Author(s): N. Keshta; A. Elshorbagy
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: The terrestrial ecology community over the last two decades has developed models to simulate various hydrological processes. Operational applications are demanding, as they request both efficiency and robustness. Therefore, there is always a debate about the modeling approach that should be selected; model choices must be justified through simulation results, and for robustness considerations. This paper discusses the possibility of using two hydrological models for predicting various hydrological processes using a set of lumped meteorological and soil data. The two models, namely, Generic System Dynamics Watershed (GSDW) model, and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), were applied on two watersheds: (i) a reconstructed watershed located in the Athabasca mining basin, Alberta, Canada, and (ii) a natural forested watershed located in Saskatchewan, Canada; to simulate soil moisture patterns and actual evapotranspiration. Overall, the results indicate that the GSDW model, though it has a simple lumped structure, was able to reproduce the soil moisture dynamics during the growing season in the upper layer superior to SWAT model.
Year: 2009