Development of the Synthetic Unit Hydrograph Tool – SUnHyT

Abstract

Unit hydrographs (UH) are widely used in scientific research and engineering projects to simulate rainfall-runoff processes. There are four main approaches for calculating UH: the traditional, the conceptual, the probabilistic, and the geomorphological approaches. Most software designed to facilitate the estimation of UH is usually based on only one UH approach, limiting its applicability for scientific hypotheses testing. This paper presents the Synthetic Unit Hydrograph Tool (SUnHyT), which provides nine different UH models from the four main approaches used in UH applications. SUnHyT is an open-source application that can be used intuitively through a graphical user interface. We tested the model in a case study that highlights the need for alternative approaches of UH when the traditional approach does not perform well. SUnHyT allows the estimation of design hydrographs in gauged and ungauged catchments and can be useful for hydrologists, water managers and decision-makers.