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RUNOFF MODELING OF A MOUNTAINOUS CATCHMENT USING TOPMODEL: A CASE STUDY 1
Author(s) -
Bhaskar Nageshwar R.,
Brummett Laura K.,
French Mark N.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2005.tb03721.x
Subject(s) - surface runoff , hydrograph , digital elevation model , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , runoff model , storm , terrain , runoff curve number , drainage basin , catchment hydrology , subsurface flow , topographic wetness index , soil science , geology , remote sensing , groundwater , geography , geotechnical engineering , ecology , oceanography , cartography , biology
ABSTRACT: The rainfall‐runoff response of the Tygarts Creek Catchment in eastern Kentucky is studied using TOPMODEL, a hydrologic model that simulates runoff at the catchment outlet based on the concepts of saturation excess overland flow and subsurface flow. Unlike the traditional application of this model to continuous rainfall‐runoff data, the use of TOPMOEL in single event runoff modeling, specifically floods, is explored here. TOPMODEL utilizes a topographic index as an indicator of the likely spatial distribution of rainfall excess generation in the catchment. The topographic index values within the catchment are determined using the digital terrain analysis procedures in conjunction with digital elevation model (DEM) data. Select parameters in TOPMODEL are calibrated using an iterative procedure to obtain the best‐fit runoff hydrograph. The calibrated parameters are the surface transmissivity, T O , the transmissivity decay parameter, m, and the initial moisture deficit in the root zone, S r0 . These parameters are calibrated using three storm events and verified using three additional storm events. Overall, the calibration results obtained in this study are in general agreement with the results documented from previous studies using TOPMODEL. However, the parameter values did not perform well during the verification phase of this study.