GMS:What's New in GMS 8.0

The following is a list of the more significant changes in GMS 8.0.

1. MODFLOW 2005 with the UZF Package package

   • GMS 8.0 supports both MODFLOW 2000 and MODFLOW 2005. All older versions of MODFLOW can also be imported and converted to either 2000 or 2005.
   • The UZF – Unsaturated Zone Flow package in MODFLOW 2005 is now supported in GMS 8.0.

2. SEAWAT

   • "3D variable-density groundwater flow coupled with multi-species solute and heat transport" now available in GMS 8.0.

3. GMS 8.0 is faster!

   • Optimized OpenGL graphics using vertex arrays has resulted in much improved rendering speeds in GMS 8.0.
   • Intelligent disk caching has also resulted in better performance on large grids.

4. Improved Graphics

   • Better lighting with specular highlights
   • Transparency improvements with more accurate colors and control of individual material transparency

5. GMS Community Edition

   • This is a free version of GMS with limits on the size of the grid and the number of stress periods you can create. However there are no limits on what you can read (but models that exceed the limits cannot be saved).

6. MODFLOW 2000 version 1.19.01 (latest version)
7. MT3DMS version 5.3 (latest version)
8. Updated GUI look and feel

   • Colors and styles of the GUI (buttons, check boxes etc) have been modernized.

9. Contouring and block fill improvements

   • The contour options dialog has been updated and simplified.
   • Contours are faster, use less memory, and look better due to improved use of OpenGL textures.
   • The block fill display option on 3D grid faces has been simplified by merging it with the contour options.

10. GMS:Annotations

    The old drawing objects have been replaced with Annotation layers. An annotation layer can be 2D (screen space) or 3D (world space) and can include the standard items such as text, lines, rectangles and ovals, as well as new items such as:

    • North arrows that point North in all views.
    • Scale bars
    • Images from user files

11. ArcGIS map server layers

    • ArcGIS map server layers can be opened in GMS giving you instant access to ESRI's map data (Topo maps etc). The background maps are updated as you zoom and pan. Requires a license of ArcGIS and an internet connection.

12. Regional to Local model conversion improvements

    • Converting MODFLOW data to 2D scatter points so it can later be interpolated to a new MODFLOW grid has been greatly improved.
    • Interpolating from 2D Scatter Points to MODFLOW data has also been greatly improved.

13. MODFLOW LMG3 package support

    • The LMG3 package "offers some improvements over the LMG1 package for certain types of problems. The LMG3 package is backward compatible with LMG1 input files."
    • Multi-core, parallel processing supported.

14. Parameter Estimation improvements

    • Several new features have been added to the Parameter Estimation dialog.

15. Check For Updates

    A new command in the Help menu lets you easily check if there's a newer version of GMS available for download.

16. Named Layer Ranges on 3D Grids

    A new visualization option called Named Layer Ranges has been added to 3D grids.

17. Grid Row/Column/Layer Redistribution

    Now you can select multiple grid rows (or columns or layers) and tell GMS how many new rows you want in the selected area. The number can be more or less than the existing number of rows. Model boundary conditions are intelligently placed in the closest new grid cell after the change.

18. T-PROGS Improvements

    You can now create more than one T-PROGS simulation and they show up in the Project Explorer.

    You can use all boreholes or select a borehole folder when creating a new T-PROGS simulation.

    The maximum number of materials you can use has gone from 5 to 9.

    You can target a subset of grid layers instead of the entire grid.