Author(s): Yongbo Liu; Seifu Gebremeskel; Florimond De Smedt; Laurent Pfister
Linked Author(s): Yongbo Liu
Keywords: Flood prediction; Water balance; Distributed hydrologic modeling; GIS
Abstract: An hourly physically-based distributed hydrologic model for Water and Energy Transfer between Soil, Plants and Atmosphere (Wet Spa) is presented in this paper. The model combines elevation, soil and land use data within the geographic information system, and predicts flood hydrograph and the spatial distribution of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, surface runoff, interflow and percolation throughout a watershed. Surface runoff is generated in relation to rainfall intensity and soil moisture content and is routed along the flow paths by using the diffusive wave approximation, while interflow and percolation is controlled by soil characteristics and modeled by Darcy’s law and kinematic approximation. The model was applied to the Attert basin in the Grand-duchy of Luxembourg, for which topography and soil data are available in GIS form, and land use data was obtained from remote sensed images. River discharges are estimated on hourly basis from October 1998 to March 2001, and good agreement is achieved with the measurements.
Year: 2002