Articles | Volume 25, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4041-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4041-2021
Research article
 | 
09 Jul 2021
Research article |  | 09 Jul 2021

Coupling saturated and unsaturated flow: comparing the iterative and the non-iterative approach

Natascha Brandhorst, Daniel Erdal, and Insa Neuweiler

Model code and software

Coupled saturated and unsaturated flow model Natascha Brandhorst and Daniel Erdal https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4737010

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Short summary
We compare two approaches for coupling a 2D groundwater model with multiple 1D models for the unsaturated zone. One is non-iterative and very fast. The other one is iterative and involves a new way of treating the specific yield, which is crucial for obtaining a consistent solution in both model compartments. Tested on different scenarios, this new method turns out to be slower than the non-iterative approach but more accurate and still very efficient compared to fully integrated 3D model runs.