Installing MODFLOW/ModelMuse5 on LINUX Distros
When I started transitioning from W10 to Pop_OS! (Ubuntu-based), I got a new remote internship at a hydrogeological consulting company.
From day one, I was willing to learn how to model aquifers and everything related to water modeling. I knew the company wouldn’t send me a working station, but I had to find a way of installing MODFLOW on my Pop_OS!
The very first things you have to know is:
- There are MODFLOW binaries compiled for Linux, developed by USGS Team;
- ModelMuse is free and open-source software;
You can say to me:
“But bro, if you’re using Linux and have the binaries, you can just use FloPy!”
Yep, I do agree with you. But the main point is: learning how to operate is better when you have a graphic interface. For example, it’s easier to learn how to work with spatial data using QGIS and then switch to PyQGIS or even Python + GDAL.
Installation
In total, we’re going to download 3 packages: MODFLOW binaries, ModelMuse5 and Wine.
For those that don’t know what Wine is, you can check it here.
Despite being open-source, Model Muse doesn’t have a version for Linux OS. That’s why Wine is the workaround.
Download MODFLOW Binaries
This is the easiest part. Download the zip file with the Linux binaries from this USGS GitHub repository. Place it in your Documents folder under the name of MODFLOW/src.
Installing Wine
Visit Wine Download Page, choose your Linux distro-base. In my case, as I said before, I used Pop_OS! Ubuntu-based.
Then, all the install instructions will appear. Follow it until the end according to your distro. Below are the codes for installing Wine on my machine Ubuntu-based 21.10. Make sure to check your systems configurations.
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386wget -nc https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.keysudo apt-key add winehq.keysudo add-apt-repository ‘deb https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/ impish main’sudo apt updatesudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable
Downloading ModelMuse5
ModelMuse5 has just been released. Let’s download its stable version from the USGS website. In my case, I have to download the 64-bit installer.
After downloading the .exe, you must click with the mouse’s right button, then go to Open With Another App > Apps Windows Wine. Then hit Select.
Wine will pop up a window. It might ask you to download a few extra packages. Hit yes.
In a few moments, an installation window will appear:
Click “Next” until the “Install” button appears. Hit it!
Bingo!
Then I opened a project that I had on my external hard drive. It opens smoothly. Sometimes the program might crash or rise bugs due to the emulator since originally it was compiled for Windows.
Configuring your ModelMuse and MODFLOW Binaries
Once you have your ModelMuse open, go to Model > MODFLOW Program Locations. Another window will appear. Select each binary you want to load into your ModelMuse and select the path from your ~/Documents/MODFLOW/src.
All fields in red are required! After setting the path, just click “OK” and everything is ready to go.
That’s it. Now you can start your aquifer modeling on your Linux computer. Enjoy!
