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Research areas

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Water (flow) and solute transport
Modelling of the hydrological cycle is carried out for estimating the quantity and quality of the freshwater resource, and assessment of uncertainties in these estimates. The tasks range from detailed small-scale process studies within a single medium, such as the saturated or unsaturated part of the  groundwater system, to integrated catchment scale modelling including the entire groundwater and surface  water system. The tasks are grouped within the following categories:
  • Freshwater resource
  • Contamination and transport
  • Quality assurance and uncertainty assessments

  The National Water Resources Model (DK-model) is a large-scale model for assessment of the overall water balance at national and regional scales in Denmark. The model is physically based and fully distributed, based on MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 model codes. The model was most recently updated in 2009, with revised geological interpretation based on existing geological and hydrological models, expansion in the river network description, detailing input data and refining the discretisation (geology: 100x100 m, numerical model: 500x500 m).   DK model


The freshwater resource
Hydrological modelling has traditionally been carried out for individual domains of the hydrological system, such as the groundwater or surface water systems. The challenges we face, however, require an integrated approach in which all freshwater system components must be considered concurrently. Integrated catchment scale modelling, including scaling issues and methods for upscaling from point and small-scale measurements to large-scale modelling, are central research topics for the Department of Hydrology. The National Water Resources Model (DK-model) is an integrated surface water and groundwater model developed for the entire country for evaluating the freshwater resource at the national level. The model is utilised in Danish groundwater management and has served as foundation for a number of investigative studies. The EU Water Framework Directive instructs individual member states to monitor the entire freshwater resource and to document the reliability of the established monitoring programs. This impose new challenges with a need for closer interaction between monitoring and modelling in order to better utilize the monitoring data and understanding of the freshwater resource.

Subsurface transport
Reactive transport modelling of nutrients and xenobiotic compounds is carried out for the saturated as well as unsaturated groundwater zones. Special emphasis is put on contamination from diffuse sources, such as fertilizers and pesticides, as they present the main threat to the freshwater quality in Denmark.

Vulnerability to pesticide leaching is studied on national as well as EU scales, while other projects focus on climate change effects on future pesticide leaching in Denmark. Modelling of solute transport at the catchment scale presents a special challenge, with a need for developing new methods.

Quality assurance and uncertainty assessment
In recent years, quality assurance and uncertainty assessment related to hydrological modelling have received increasing focus both nationally and internationally. The Department of Hydrology has developed a national guideline on groundwater modelling. At the EU level, the department has participated in the EU project HarmoniQuA, on developing a modelling guideline and a supporting software program for various hydrological media. The HarmoniQuA products have subsequently been tested in Danish model studies during the course of the NOVANAQuA project. Additionally, Department of Hydrology is regularly participating in modelling studies as independent reviewer.

In uncertainty analyses of model results, parameter uncertainty has traditionally been in focus. Via national, international and Ph.D. projects, Department of Hydrology has contributed to a general focus on uncertainty as related to the conceptual model, including the geological interpretation.

Current projects:

Contacts: (CV's are found here)
Freshwater Resource Subsurface transport   Quality assurance and uncertainty analysis
Jens Christian Refsgaard x x x
Anker Lajer Højberg x x x
Peter van der Keur x x
Lars Troldborg x x x
Hans Jørgen Henriksen x x
Simon Stisen x
Britt S.B. Christensen x x
Karen Grothe Villholth

x

Torben O. Sonnenborg

x

x

Servicees :

Department of Hydrology participates as course organizer under Research Based In-job Training in Water Resources ( www.e-va.dk)

Scientific publications :

Henriksen, H.J., Refsgaard, J.C., Højberg, A.L., Ferrand, N., Gijsbers, P., and Scholten, H. 2009. Harmonised principles for public participation in quality assurance of integrated water resources modeling (2009). Water Resources Management: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11269-008-9395-9.

Hansen, J. R., V. Ernstsen, J. C. Refsgaard, and S. Hansen. 2008. Field scale heterogeneity of redox conditions in till-upscaling to a catchment nitrate model. Hydrogeology Journal, 16(7), 1251-1266, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10040-008-0330-1.
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Iversen, B.V., van der Keur, P. and Vosgerau (2008). Hydrogeological relationships of sandy deposits: Modeling of two-dimensional unsaturated water and pesticide transport. J. Environ. Qual. 37:1909-1917. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/jeq2006.0200.

Stisen, S., Jensen, K.H., Sandholt, I. and D.I.F. Grimes. 2008. A remote sensing driven distributed hydrological model of the Senegal River basin. Journal of Hydrology, 354, 131-148, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.03.006.

Henriksen, H. J., L. Troldborg, A. L. Højberg, and J. C. Refsgaard. 2008. Assessment of exploitable groundwater resources of Denmark by use of ensemble resource indicators and a numerical groundwater-surface water model. Journal of Hydrology, 348, 224-240, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.09.056.

van der Keur, P., J. R. Hansen, S. Hansen, and J. C. Refsgaard. 2008. Uncertainty in simulation of nitrate leaching at field and catchment scale within the Odense river basin. Vadose Zone Journal, 7(1), 10-21, http://dx.doi.org/10.2136/vzj2006.0186.

Seifert, D., T. O. Sonnenborg, P. Scharling, and K. Hinsby. 2008. Use of alternative conceptual models to assess the impact of a buried valley on groundwater vulnerability. Hydrogeology Journal, 16(4), 659-674, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10040-007-0252-3

Troldborg, L., K. H. Jensen, P. Engesgaard, J. C. Refsgaard, and K. Hinsby. 2008. Using Environmental Tracers in Modeling Flow in a Complex Shallow Aquifer System. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 13(11), 1037-1048, http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1084-0699(2008)13:11(1037)

Hansen, J. R., J. C. Refsgaard, S. Hansen, and V. Ernstsen. 2007. Problems with heterogeneity in physically based agricultural catchment models. Journal of Hydrology, 342, 1-16, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.04.016

Højberg, A. L., J. C. Refsgaard, F. van Geer, L. F. Jørgensen, and I. Zsuffa. 2007. Use of models to support the monitoring requirements in the water framework directive, Water Resources Management, 21(10), 1649-1672, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11269-006-9119-y

Jørgensen, L. F., J. C. Refsgaard, and A. L. Højberg. 2007. Joint use of monitoring and modelling. Water Science and Technology, 56(8), 21-29, http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2007.596

Nilsson, B., A. L. Højberg, J. C. Refsgaard, and L. Troldborg. 2007. Uncertainty in geological and hydrogeological data. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11, 1551-1561.

Refsgaard, J. C., J. P. van der Sluijs, A. L. Højberg, and P. A. Vanrolleghem. 2007. Uncertainty in the environmental modelling process - A framework and guidance. Environmental Modelling & Software, 22(11), 1543-1556, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envost.2007.02.004

Troldborg, L., J. C. Refsgaard, K. H. Jensen, and P. Engesgaard. 2007. The importance of alternative conceptual models for simulation of concentrations in a multi-aquifer system. Hydrogeology Journal, 15(5), 843-860, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10040-007-0192-y

Refsgaard, J. C., J. P. van der Sluijs, J. Brown, and P. van der Keur. 2006. A framework for dealing with uncertainty due to model structure error. Advances in Water Resources, 29(11), 1586-1597, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2005.11.013

van der Keur, P. and Iversen, B.V. 2006. Uncertainty in soil physical data at river basin scale. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 10(6), 889-902.

Højberg, A. L., and J. C. Refsgaard. 2005. Model uncertainty - parameter uncertainty versus conceptual models. Water Science and Technology, 52(6), 177-186.

Refsgaard, J. C., Nilsson, B., Brown, J., Klauer, B., Moore, R., Bech, T., Vurro, M., Blind, M., Castilla, G., Tsanis, L. and Biza, P. 2005. Harmonised techniques and representative river basin data for assessment and use of uncertainty information in integrated water management (HarmoniRiB). Environmental Science & Policy, 8(3), 267-277, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2005.02.001

Refsgaard, J. C., H. J. Henriksen, W. G. Harrar, H. Scholten, and A. Kassahun. 2005. Quality assurance in model based water management - review of existing practice and outline of new approaches. Environmental Modelling & Software, 20(10), 1201-1215, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2004.07.006

Refsgaard, J. C., and H. J. Henriksen. 2004. Modelling guidelines - terminology and guiding principles. Advances in Water Resources, 27(1), 71-82, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2003.08.006

Henriksen, H. J., L. Troldborg, P. Nyegaard, T. O. Sonnenborg, J. C. Refsgaard, and B. Madsen. 2003. Methodology for construction, calibration and validation of a national hydrological model for Denmark, Journal of Hydrology, 280(1-4), 52-71, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(03)00186-0

Sonnenborg, T. O., B. S. B. Christensen, P. Nyegaard, H. J. Henriksen, and J. C. Refsgaard. 2003. Transient modeling of regional groundwater flow using parameter estimates from steady-state automatic calibration. Journal of Hydrology, 273(1-4), 188-204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(02)00389-X

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