scholarly journals Hydrological modeling for streamflow and sediment yield simulation using the SWAT model in a forest-dominated watershed of north-eastern Himalayas of Kashmir Valley, India

Author(s):  
Sarvat Gull ◽  
Shagoofta Rasool Shah

Abstract In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to examine the spatial variability of sediment yield, quantify runoff, and soil loss at the sub-basin level and prioritize sub-basins in the Sindh watershed due to its computational efficiency in complex watersheds. The Sequential Uncertainty Fitting-2 approach was used to determine the sensitivity and uncertainty of model parameters. The parameter sensitivity analysis showed that Soil Conservation Services Curve Number II is the most sensitive model parameter for streamflow simulation, whereas linear parameters for sediment re-entrainment is the most significant parameter for sediment yield simulation. This study used daily runoff and sediment event data from 2003 to 2013; data from 2003 to 2008 were utilized for calibration and data from 2009 to 2013 were used for validation. In general, the model performance statistics showed good agreement between observed and simulated values of streamflow and sediment yield for both calibration and validation periods. The noticed insights of this research show the ability of the SWAT model in simulating the hydrology of the Sindh watershed and its reliability to be utilized as a decision-making tool by decision-makers and researchers to influence strategies in the management of watershed processes.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgenia Koltsida ◽  
Nikos Mamassis ◽  
Andreas Kallioras

Abstract. SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) is a continuous time, semi-distributed river basin model that has been widely used to evaluate the effects of alternative management decisions on water resources. This study, demonstrates the application of SWAT model for streamflow simulation in an experimental basin with daily and hourly rainfall observations to investigate the influence of rainfall resolution on model performance. The model was calibrated for 2018 and validated for 2019 using the SUFI-2 algorithm in the SWAT-CUP program. Daily surface runoff was estimated using the Curve Number method and hourly surface runoff was estimated using the Green and Ampt Mein Larson method. A sensitivity analysis conducted in this study showed that the parameters related to groundwater flow were more sensitive for daily time intervals and channel routing parameters were more influential for hourly time intervals. Model performance statistics and graphical techniques indicated that the daily model performed better than the sub-daily model. The Curve Number method produced higher discharge peaks than the Green and Ampt Mein Larson method and estimated better the observed values. Overall, the general agreement between observations and simulations in both models suggests that the SWAT model appears to be a reliable tool to predict discharge over long periods of time.


Author(s):  
Sarvat Gull ◽  
Shagoofta Rasool Shah

Abstract The conjunction of heavy snowfall during winters and intensive rainfall during monsoons along with the mountainous topography expose the Lidder watershed to serious erosion and flood aggravation issues. Barely any attempts have been made for an in-depth examination of Lidder watershed for precise estimation of sub-basin level runoff and erosion. In this study Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was calibrated using Sequential Uncertainty Fitting algorithm (SUFI-2) for modelling streamflow and sediment yield of the Lidder watershed. Daily runoff and sediment event data from 2003–2013 were used in this study; data from 2003–2008 was used for calibration and 2009–2013 for validation. Model performance was evaluated using various statistical tools which showed good results revealing excellent potential of SWAT model to simulate streamflow and sediment yield for both calibration and validation periods. The annual rate of average upland sediment drawn from the watershed was approximately 853.96 Mg/ha for an average surface runoff of 394.15 mm/year. This study identifies the vulnerable areas of the Lidder watershed which can be thoroughly examined by decision-makers for effective management and planning. Further, the calibrated model can be applied to other watersheds with similar characterization to influence strategies in the management of watershed processes.


Author(s):  
N. C. Sanjay Shekar ◽  
D. C. Vinay

Abstract The present study was conducted to examine the accuracy and applicability of the hydrological models Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC)- Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS) to simulate streamflows. Models combined with the ArcGIS interface have been used for hydrological study in the humid tropical Hemavathi catchment (5,427 square kilometer). The critical focus of the streamflow analysis was to determine the efficiency of the models when the models were calibrated and optimized using observed flows in the simulation of streamflows. Daily weather gauge stations data were used as inputs for the models from 2014–2020 period. Other data inputs required to run the models included land use/land cover (LU/LC) classes resulting from remote sensing satellite imagery, soil map and digital elevation model (DEM). For evaluating the model performance and calibration, daily stream discharge from the catchment outlet data were used. For the SWAT model calibration, available water holding capacity by soil (SOL_AWC), curve number (CN) and soil evaporation compensation factor (ESCO) are identified as the sensitive parameters. Initial abstraction (Ia) and lag time (Tlag) are the significant parameters identified for the HEC-HMS model calibration. The models were subsequently adjusted by autocalibration for 2014–2017 to minimize the variations in simulated and observed streamflow values at the catchment outlet (Akkihebbal). The hydrological models were validated for the 2018–2020 period by using the calibrated models. For evaluating the simulating daily streamflows during calibration and validation phases, performances of the models were conducted by using the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency (NSE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The SWAT model yielded high R2 and NSE values of 0.85 and 0.82 for daily streamflow comparisons for the catchment outlet at the validation time, suggesting that the SWAT model showed relatively good results than the HEC-HMS model. Also, under modified LU/LC and ungauged streamflow conditions, the calibrated models can be later used to simulate streamflows for future predictions. Overall, the SWAT model seems to have done well in streamflow analysis capably for hydrological studies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
Abebe Tarko Assfaw

Abstract Intensive agricultural practice in Ethiopian highlands results in increasing rates of soil erosion and reservoir sedimentation. The estimation of sediment yield and prediction of the spatial distribution of soil erosion on the upper Megech reservoir catchment enables the local governments and policymakers to maximize the design span life of the Megech reservoir through implementing appropriate soil conservation practices. For this study, the sediment yield was estimated and analyzed through hydrological modeling (SWAT). The simulated outputs of the model show that the mean annual surface runoff was 282 mm and the mean annual streamflow was 153 m3/s. Similarly, 12.33 t/ha mean annual total sediment load gets into the Megech reservoir. The model performance standard used to evaluate the model result indicates that the model was superior in performing the trend of runoff and sediment yield in both calibration and validation periods. Finally, the most erosion vulnerable sub-basins that could have a significant impact on the sediment yield of the reservoir were identified. Based on this, sub-basin 7, 25, 27, 18 and 29 were found to be the most erosion sensitive areas that could have a significant contribution to the increment of sediment yield in the Megech reservoir. Considering the land use, soil type, slope, and relief of erosion vulnerable sub-basins cut off drains, fallow land, contour ploughing, Fanya juu terraces, soil bunds combined with trenches and trees could be the possible management strategies to reduce the sediment yield in the catchment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 861-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Guo ◽  
Xiaoling Su

Abstract Streamflow in the Shiyang River basin is numerically investigated based on the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT). The interpolation precipitation datasets of GSI, multisource satellite and reanalysis precipitation datasets including TRMM, CMDF, CFSR, CHIRPS and PGF are specially applied as the inputs for SWAT model, and the sensitivities of model parameters, as well as streamflow prediction uncertainties, are discussed via the sequential uncertainty fitting procedure (SUFI-2). Results indicate that streamflow simulation can be effectively improved by downscaling the precipitation datasets. The sensitivities of model parameters vary significantly with respect to different precipitation datasets and sub-basins. CN2 (initial SCS runoff curve number for moisture condition II) and SMTMP (base temperature of snow melt) are found to be the most sensitive parameters, which implies that the generations of surface runoff and snowmelt are extremely crucial for streamflow in this basin. Moreover, the uncertainty analysis of streamflow prediction indicates that the performance of simulation can be further improved by parameter optimization. It also demonstrates that the precipitation data from satellite and reanalysis datasets can be applied to streamflow simulation as effective inputs, and the dependences of parameter sensitivities on basin and precipitation dataset are responsible for the variation of simulation performance.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1252
Author(s):  
Sridhara Setti ◽  
Rathinasamy Maheswaran ◽  
Venkataramana Sridhar ◽  
Kamal Kumar Barik ◽  
Bruno Merz ◽  
...  

Precipitation is essential for modeling the hydrologic behavior of watersheds. There exist multiple precipitation products of different sources and precision. We evaluate the influence of different precipitation product on model parameters and streamflow predictive uncertainty using a soil water assessment tool (SWAT) model for a forest dominated catchment in India. We used IMD (gridded rainfall dataset), TRMM (satellite product), bias-corrected TRMM (corrected satellite product) and NCEP-CFSR (reanalysis dataset) over a period from 1998–2012 for simulating streamflow. The precipitation analysis using statistical measures revealed that the TRMM and CFSR data slightly overestimate rainfall compared to the ground-based IMD data. However, the TRMM estimates improved, applying a bias correction. The Nash–Sutcliffe (and R2) values for TRMM, TRMMbias and CFSR, are 0.58 (0.62), 0.62 (0.63) and 0.52 (0.54), respectively at model calibrated with IMD data (Scenario A). The models of each precipitation product (Scenario B) yielded Nash–Sutcliffe (and R2) values 0.71 (0.76), 0.74 (0.78) and 0.76 (0.77) for TRMM, TRMMbias and CFSR datasets, respectively. Thus, the hydrological model-based evaluation revealed that the model calibration with individual rainfall data as input showed increased accuracy in the streamflow simulation. IMD and TRMM forced models to perform better in capturing the streamflow simulations than the CFSR reanalysis-driven model. Overall, our results showed that TRMM data after proper correction could be a good alternative for ground observations for driving hydrological models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 187 ◽  
pp. 06002
Author(s):  
Isared Kakarndee ◽  
Ekasit Kositsakulchai

The performance of the well-known Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the new SWAT+ for streamflow simulation in a paddy- field-dominated basin was compared. The Lam Sioa River Basin, northeast Thailand (drainage area of 3,394 km2) was selected. The data inputs consisted of DEM, land use, soil, and climate (rainfall, temperature, sunshine hour, wind speed and humidity). The model parameters used the default values from SWAT database and daily simulation was conducted from 2005 to 2017. The division of sub-basins into “landscape units” is one of new features of SWAT+. The total number of HRUs defined from SWAT+ were higher than those from SWAT because the sub-basins derived from SWAT+ contained two landscape units (floodplain and upslope). With the default model parameters, the model performance indicators were found below the satisfactory rating. Both models simulated relatively high streamflow at the beginning of rainy season, while the observed streamflow was still not occurred. In paddy field, rainfall excess become ponding water, not surface runoff. The appropriate representation of paddy field in SWAT model should be further investigated.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Jin ◽  
Yanxiang Jin

The calibration of hydrological models is often complex in regions with scarce data, and generally only uses site-based streamflow data. However, this approach will yield highly generalised values for all model parameters and hydrological processes. It is therefore necessary to obtain more spatially heterogeneous observation data (e.g., satellite-based evapotranspiration (ET)) to calibrate such hydrological models. Here, soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) models were built to evaluate the advantages of using ET data derived from the Global Land surface Evaporation Amsterdam Methodology (GLEAM) to calibrate the models for the Bayinhe River basin in northwest China, which is a typical data-scarce basin. The result revealed the following: (1) A great effort was required to calibrate the SWAT models for the study area to obtain an improved model performance. (2) The SWAT model performance for simulating the streamflow and water balance was reliable when calibrated with streamflow only, but this method of calibration grouped the hydrological processes together and caused an equifinality issue. (3) The combination of the streamflow and GLEAM-based ET data for calibrating the SWAT model improved the model performance for simulating the streamflow and water balance. However, the equifinality issue remained at the hydrologic response unit (HRU) level.


Hydrology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Nura Boru Jilo ◽  
Bogale Gebremariam ◽  
Arus Edo Harka ◽  
Gezahegn Weldu Woldemariam ◽  
Fiseha Behulu

It is anticipated that climate change will impact sediment yield in watersheds. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of climate change on sediment yield from the Logiya watershed in the lower Awash Basin, Ethiopia. Here, we used the coordinated regional climate downscaling experiment (CORDEX)-Africa data outputs of Hadley Global Environment Model 2-Earth System (HadGEM2-ES) under representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Future scenarios of climate change were analyzed in two-time frames: 2020–2049 (2030s) and 2050–2079 (2060s). Both time frames were analyzed using both RCP scenarios from the baseline period (1971–2000). A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was constructed to simulate the hydrological and the sedimentological responses to climate change. The model performance was calibrated and validated using the coefficient of determination (R2), Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and percent bias (PBIAS). The results of the calibration and the validation of the sediment yield R2, NSE, and PBIAS were 0.83, 0.79, and −23.4 and 0.85, 0.76, and −25.0, respectively. The results of downscaled precipitation, temperature, and estimated evapotranspiration increased in both emission scenarios. These climate variable increments were expected to result in intensifications in the mean annual sediment yield of 4.42% and 8.08% for RCP4.5 and 7.19% and 10.79% for RCP8.5 by the 2030s and the 2060s, respectively.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-42
Author(s):  
Kamel Khanchoul ◽  
Amina Amamra ◽  
Bachir Saaidia

Erosion is identified as one of the most significant threats to land in increasing rates of soil loss and reservoir sedimentation. An integrated approach therefore requires sediment assessment for identification of its sources for efficient watershed management. The present study is aimed to examine the spatial and temporal sediment yield distribution potential and to identify the critical erosion prone zones within Kebir watershed, Algeria using Soil and Water Assessment Tool interfaced in GIS for the period from 1982 to 2014. The model is calibrated by adjusting sensitive parameters and validation is done using observed data from 1982 to 1998. The model performance checked by the coefficient of determination (0.76), Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient (0.75) and relative error (+8.19%) suggests that the model has performed satisfactorily for sediment yield prediction. The simulated outputs of the model show that the 33-year period of sediment load production is estimated to be 19.24×106 tons and a mean annual sediment yield of 856.14 T/km²/yr. Temporally, sixty-four percent (50%) of sediment yield generated in the watershed occurs in five months of the winter and fall seasons. The most erosion vulnerable sub-basins that could have a significant impact on the sediment yield of the reservoirs are identified. Based on this, sub-basin 16, 14, 13, 11 and 8 are found to be the most erosion sensitive areas that could have a significant contribution, of 50%, to the increment of sediment yield. Best management practices are highly recommended for the land sustainability because of the high sediment supply to the dams.


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