Author(s): Liu Jiahong; Wang Guangqian; Qin Tao
Linked Author(s): Jiahong Liu
Keywords: Digital watershed model; Rainfall runoff; Water resourcesmanagement; The Yellow River
Abstract: A digital watershed model is desired for the Yellow River basin for supplying an effective tool to identify the quantity and spatial-distribution of the water resources for facilitating water resources management. In this study, the framework of a digital watershed model has been developed based on a distributed hydrological model for the Yellow River basin. In the framework, the whole river basin is divided into many hydrologic elements, which is called hillslope units. The hillslope units are firstly agglomerated into small sub-catchments, then sub-basins, and finally the whole river basin, according to the drainage net topology. A parallel computation algorithm has also been proposed for the developed model. The distributed parameters and some underlaying surface data are obtained from the remote sensing image. The four main parameters of the model are calibrated with the history data in Yiluo river basin, which is a sub basin of the Yellow River basin. The validation is performed in Chabagou catchment, which is another sub basin of the Yellow River basin located in the center of the Loess Plateau. The suggested model has been applied for simulating the discharge hydrograph at the Huayuankou section, which controls more than 95% area of the whole Yellow River basin. The errors between the simulated and observed results were acceptable. The developed digital watershed model would be useful for flooding control and water resources management for the Yellow River basin.
Year: 2009