# GMS (software)

GMS (Groundwater Modeling System) is water modeling application for building and simulating groundwater models from Aquaveo. It features 2D and 3D geostatistics, stratigraphic modeling and a unique conceptual model approach. Currently supported models include MODFLOW, MODPATH, MT3DMS, RT3D, FEMWATER, SEEP2D, and UTEXAS.
Version 6 introduced the use of XMDF (eXtensible Model Data Format), which is a compatible extension of HDF5. The purpose of this Is to allow internal storage and management of data in a single HDF file, rather than using many flat files.

## History

GMS was initially developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s on Unix workstations by the Engineering Computer Graphics Laboratory at Brigham Young University. The development of GMS was funded primarily by The United States Army Corps of Engineers and was known until version 4.0, released in late 1999, as the Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System, or DoD GMS. It was ported to Microsoft Windows in the mid 1990s. Version 3.1 was the last version that supported HP-UX, IRIX, OSF/1, and Solaris platforms. Development of GMS, along with development of WMS and SMS, was transferred to Aquaveo when it was formed in April 2007.
A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics in August 2000 stated that "GMS provides an interface to the groundwater flow model, MODFLOW, and the contaminant transport model, MT3D. MODFLOW is a three-dimensional, cell-centered, finite-difference, saturated-flow model capable of both steady-state and transient analyses. These two models, when put together, provide a comprehensive tool for examining groundwater flow and nitrate transport and accumulation". The study was designed to help develop a "permit scheme to effectively manage nitrate pollution of groundwater supplies for communities in rural areas without hindering agricultural production in watersheds".

## Version history

GMS Release History :
| Date Released | Name | Version | Comments |
| December 1994 | Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="1.0" | Old version, not maintained: 1.0 | Supported meshes, grids, geostats, MODFLOW (MODFLOW 88), and FEMWATER |
| March 1995 | Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="1.1" | Old version, not maintained: 1.1 | Support added for MT3D |
| August 1995 | Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="1.2" | Old version, not maintained: 1.2 | |
| June 1996 | Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="2.0" | Old version, not maintained: 2.0 | Map module added, support added for conceptual modeling, MODPATH, and updates for FEMWATER |
| March 1998 | Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="2.1" | Old version, not maintained: 2.1 | Support added for SEEP2D and RT3D |
| September 1999 | Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="3.0" | Old version, not maintained: 3.0 | Support added for SEAM3D |
| September 2000 | Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling System | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="3.1" | Old version, not maintained: 3.1 | Standard Windows icons added to the GUI, support added for parameter estimation (PEST & UCODE), UTCHEM, MODFLOW-96, orthogonal view |
| October 2002 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="4.0" | Old version, not maintained: 4.0 | Project Explorer added to GUI, cross section editor added, support added for stochastic modeling, horizons, MODFLOW-000, and T-PROGS |
| January 2004 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="5.0" | Old version, not maintained: 5.0 | Support added for MODAEM |
| | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="5.1" | Old version, not maintained: 5.1 | Support added for GIS, conceptual model objects, and coverage attribute tables |
| July 2005 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="6.0" | Old version, not maintained: 6.0 | Support for OpenGL rendering, MODFLOW stored in files rather than in memory |
| December 2007 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="6.5" | Old version, not maintained: 6.5 | First version released by Aquaveo. Support added for UTEXAS and HDF5 |
| August 2009 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="7.0" | Old version, not maintained: 7.0 | Compatible with Windows Vista. Support export in Arc Hydro Groundwater (AHGW) format, updated MODFLOW support, added support for MODPATH 5, removed ART3D interface |
| February 2010 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="7.1" | Old version, not maintained: 7.1 | Updated MODFLOW package and UTEXAS feature support, added Parallel PEST (including SVD and SVD-Assist with PEST), changed GMS logo |
| March 2011 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="8.0" | Old version, not maintained: 8.0 | Added support for MODFLOW-2005 and SEAWAT, updated MODFLOW-2000, MT3DMS, and T-PROGS support, improved OpenGL speed and general GUI |
| September 2011 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="8.1" | Old version, not maintained: 8.1 | 64-bit version of GMS released, improved speed of MODFLOW saving and importing, updated FEMWATER, annotations, and Global Mapper |
| February 2012 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="8.2" | Old version, not maintained: 8.2 | Added support for ZONEBUDGET and MODFLOW NWT and DE4, major update to most models and libraries |
| July 2012 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="8.3" | Old version, not maintained: 8.3 | Added feature allowing users to report bugs within GMS. |
| November 2012 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="9.0" | Old version, not maintained: 9.0 | Current GMS logo released. |
| May 2013 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="9.1" | Old version, not maintained: 9.1 | |
| November 2013 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="9.2" | Old version, not maintained: 9.2 | |
| July 2014 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="10.0" | Old version, not maintained: 10.0 | |
| February 2016 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="10.1" | Old version, not maintained: 10.1 | |
| October 2016 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="10.2" | Old version, not maintained: 10.2 | |
| August 2017 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="10.3" | Old version, not maintained: 10.3 | |
| November 2018 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="10.4" | Old version, not maintained: 10.4 | |
| November 2021 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-unsupported" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, not maintained" data-sort-value="10.5" | Old version, not maintained: 10.5 | |
| January 2022 | GMS | class="templateVersion co swatch-maintained" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Old version, still maintained" data-sort-value="10.6" | Old version, still maintained: 10.6 | |
| November 2022 | GMS | class="templateVersion c swatch-latest" style="color: var(--color-base, #202122); " title="Latest version" data-sort-value="10.7" | Latest version: 10.7 | |

## Reception

A 2001 report prepared for the Iowa Comprehensive Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Fund Board stated that GMS was "a very user-friendly software package with strong technical support." Raymond H. Johnson, a hydrogeologist with the US Geological Survey, called GMS 6.0 "a useful all around groundwater modeling package that offers the advantages of modular purchases, multiple model support, linkages to ArcGIS, conceptual model development, and integrated inversion routines." A 2006 report from the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses in San Antonio, Texas called GMS "the most sophisticated groundwater modeling software available".