HR: 0800h
AN: H21A-0169    [Abstracts]
TI: Physics-based simulation of surface and near-surface hydrologic response for the Tarrawarra Catchment: parameterization for a synthetic dataset
AU: * Mirus, B B
EM: bmirus@stanford.edu
AF: Stanford University, Geological and Environmental Sciences Department, Braun Hall, Building 320, Stanford, CA 94305-2115, United States
AU: Loague, K
EM: kloague@stanford.edu
AF: Stanford University, Geological and Environmental Sciences Department, Braun Hall, Building 320, Stanford, CA 94305-2115, United States
AU: Kampf, S K
EM: skampf@warnercnr.colostate.edu
AF: Colorado State University, Department of Forest, Rangeland and Watershed stewardship, Warner College of Natural Resources, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1472, United States
AU: Burges, S J
EM: sburges@u.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Hydrology and Water Resource Engineering, 160 Wilcox Hall, Box 352700, Seattle, WA 98195-2700, United States
AB: Comprehensive physics-based simulation is a useful tool for furthering our understanding of complex hydrologic- response processes. The first step to using hypothetical realities as a base-case for concept development and hypothesis testing, is to confirm that the model / boundary-value problem (BVP) is capable of realistically representing known hydrologic-response processes. This study presents the development of a synthetic dataset designed to emulate the Tarrawarra Catchment (Southeastern Australia) using the physics-based, Integrated Hydrology Model (InHM). The Tarrawarra Catchment is a 10.5 ha, unchanneled rangeland catchment, with gentle slopes; runoff generation is dominated by the Dunne overland flow mechanism. The Tarrawarra BVP was parameterized based on topography and observed soil characteristics, then calibrated for a six month period in 1996 during which there exist continuous records of rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and surface runoff, as well as episodic sampling of soil-water content and piezometric head distributed through out the catchment. While in practice no simulation could ever incorporate all the intricacies present at the Tarrawarra Catchment, the simulations conducted for this study honor both the observations and our best understanding of the physics governing near-surface hydrologic response. The simulations show that runoff occurs only after the locally perched water table rises to the land surface, in agreement with observations at Tarrawarra. Quantitative comparison of observed and simulated hydrologic-response also shows that the model accurately captures both the integrated response (surface discharge) and the distributed response (pressure head and soil-water content), supporting the use of InHM to generate synthetic response data for a Tarrawarra-like catchment. The continuous simulations have the added advantage of greater spatial and temporal resolution than any comprehensive dataset, allowing further insight into the location and timing of runoff generation.
DE: 1804 Catchment
DE: 1847 Modeling
DE: 1850 Overland flow
DE: 1866 Soil moisture
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting