Simulation of Rainfall-Runoff for Gharesou Watershed Using SWAT Model

Subject Areas : environmental management

Mohammadreza Goodarzi ¹ ( Assistant. Professor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ayatollah Ozma Brujerdi University, Brujerd, Lorestan, Iran. * (Corresponding Author) )
Bagher Zahabiyoun ² ( Assistant Professor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran, Iran )
Alireza Massah Bavani ³ ( - Assistant Professor, Faculty of Water Engineering, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. )

Received: 2009-02-03 Accepted : 2009-07-24 Published : 2016-11-21

Keywords: Distributed Hydrologic Model, Rainfall- Runoff simulation, Calibration, SWAT,

Abstract :

Background and Objective: Rainfall-runoff Simulation is very important in many hydrological studies, such as investigating the effects of climate change on river flow, flood prediction and planning of water resources. SWAT model was used to simulate stream flow transport, sediment and quality variables (nitrogen and phosphorus...) in the watershed areas. SWAT model is a distributed time series model with physical basis. This model has an ability to connect to GIS, in a way that vast volumes of data as information layers such as land use, soil map and the DEM using GIS capabilities are used by the model. The main purpose of this study is testing SWAT model performance as a simulator of flow at the catchment scale. Method: This study attempts to prepare a model for Gharesou catchment. Moreover, the parameters were optimized using SWAT-CUP optimizer. Findings: The model was calibrated for the years 1992-1996 and validated for the years 1998-2000. The coefficient of determination (R2) for monthly flow was equal to 0.82 and Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient (Ens) was equal to 0.8 in the calibration period while in the validation period these coefficients were 0.77 and 0.73, respectively. Conclusion: These results indicate the success of the SWAT model, using optimized parameters, for the stream flow simulation in Gharesou catchment.

References:

1-      Singh, V.P., 1995. Watershed modeling. Singh, V.P. ed., Computer Models of Watershed Hydrology (1st Edition), 1-22. Highlands Ranch, Colorado: Water Resources Publications.

2-      Band, L.E., Moore, I.D., 1995. Scale: landscape attributes and geographical information systems, in: scale issues in hydrological modeling (Eds.) Kalma, J.D. and M. Sivapalan, John Wiley & Sons.

3-      Moore, I.D., O'Loughlin, E.M., Burch, G.J., 1988. A contour-based topographic model for hydrological and ecological applications. Earth

 

Surface Processes Landforms, 13: 305-320.

4-      Shimelis, G., Setegn, R., Srinivasan, A., Melesse, M., Bijan, D., 2010. SWAT model application and prediction uncertainty analysis in the Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia, Hydrol. Process. 24, 357–367.

5-      Abbaspour, K.C., Yang, J., 2006. A calibration and uncertainly analysis program for SWAT. Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Scientific and Technology.

6-      موسسه پژوهش‌های برنامه‌ریزی و اقتصاد کشاورزی. مطالعات مرحله اول ساماندهی دشت‌ها، دشت ماهیدشت-سنجابی، (1382).

7-      Wood, E.F., Sivapalan, M., Beven, K., Band, L., 1988. Effects of spatial variability and scale with implications to hydrologic modeling. Journal of Hydrology, 102: 29-47.

8-      Arnold, J.G., Fohrer, N. (2005). SWAT2000: Current capabilities and research opportunities in applied watershed modeling Hydrological Processes, 19(3):563-572.

9-      Neitsch, S.L., Arnold, J.G., Kiniry, J.R., Williams, J.R., King, K.W., 2002. SWAT Manual. USDA, Agricultural Research Service and Blackland Research Centre: Texas A&M University, USA.

10-  Reynard, N.S., 2003. Impact of climate change on flood flows in river catchments – interim report..

11-  ذهبیون، باقر و گودرزی، محمدرضا. شبیه‌سازی جریان روزانه با مدل پیوسته بارش-رواناب (ARNO). کنفرانس بین‌المللی نیروگاه‌های آبی، 1386.

12-  Abbaspour, K.C, 2008. SWAT-CUP2: SWAT Calibration and Uncertainty Programs - A User Manual. Department of Systems Analysis, Integrated Assessment and Modeling (SIAM), Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland, , 95pp

13-  Kati, L., White, Indrajeet. C., (2005). Sensitivity Analysis, Calibration, and Validations for a Multisite and Multivariable SWAT Model, Journal of the American Water Resources Association. (JAWRA) 41(5):1077-1089.

14-  Omani, N., Tajrishy, M., Abrishamchi, A., 2007. Modeling of a River Basin Using SWAT Model and SUFI- 4th International Conference of SWAT Model Delft, Netherlands.