Title: | Runoff simulation in the upper reaches of Heihe River Basin based on the RIEMS–SWAT model |
Authors: | Zou S., H. Ruan, Z. Lu, D. Yang, Z. Xiong and Z. Yin |
Year: | 2016 |
Journal: | Water |
Volume (Issue): | 8(10) |
Pages: | |
Article ID: | 455 |
DOI: | 10.3390/w8100455 |
URL (non-DOI journals): | |
Model: | SWAT |
Broad Application Category: | hydrologic only |
Primary Application Category: | calibration, sensitivity, and/or uncertainty analysis |
Secondary Application Category: | hydrologic assessment |
Watershed Description: | 10,009 km^2 upper portion of the Heihe River, located in northwest China. |
Calibration Summary: | |
Validation Summary: | |
General Comments: | |
Abstract: | In the distributed hydrological simulations for complex mountain areas, large amounts of
meteorological input parameters with high spatial and temporal resolutions are necessary. However,
the extreme scarcity and uneven distribution of the traditional meteorological observation stations
in cold and arid regions of Northwest China makes it very difficult in meeting the requirements of
hydrological simulations. Alternatively, regional climate models (RCMs), which can provide a variety
of distributed meteorological data with high temporal and spatial resolution, have become an effective
solution to improve hydrological simulation accuracy and to further study water resource responses
to human activities and global climate change. In this study, abundant and evenly distributed
virtual weather stations in the upper reaches of the Heihe River Basin (HRB) of Northwest China
were built for the optimization of the input data, and thus a regional integrated environmental
model system (RIEMS) based on RCM and a distributed hydrological model of soil and water
assessment tool (SWAT) were integrated as a coupled climate–hydrological RIEMS-SWAT model,
which was applied to simulate monthly runoff from 1995 to 2010 in the region. Results show
that the simulated and observed values are close; Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency is higher than 0.65;
determination coefficient (R2) values are higher than 0.70; percent bias is controlled within +-20%;
and root-mean-square-error-observation standard deviation ratio is less than 0.65. These results
indicate that the coupled model can present basin hydrological processes properly, and provide
scientific support for prediction and management of basin water resources. |
Language: | English |
Keywords: | Heihe River Basin; SWAT model; RIEMS model; coupled climate–hydrological model;
runoff simulation |