Abstract
Understanding the mechanism of complicated hydrological processes is important for sustainable management of water resources in an arid area. This paper carried out the simulations of water movement for the Manas River Basin (MRB) using the improved semi-distributed Topographic hydrologic model (TOPMODEL) with a snowmelt model and topographic index algorithm. A new algorithm is proposed to calculate the curve of topographic index using internal tangent circle on a conical surface. Based on the traditional model, the improved indicator of temperature considered solar radiation is used to calculate the amount of snowmelt. The uncertainty of parameters for the TOPMODEL model was analyzed using the generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) method. The proposed model shows that the distribution of the topographic index is concentrated in high mountains, and the accuracy of runoff simulation has certain enhancement by considering radiation. Our results revealed that the performance of the improved TOPMODEL is acceptable and comparable to runoff simulation in the MRB. The uncertainty of the simulations resulted from the parameters and structures of model, climatic and anthropogenic factors. This study is expected to serve as a valuable complement for widely application of TOPMODEL and identify the mechanism of hydrological processes in arid area.
Highlights
The deterioration of aquatic ecosystems due to changeable hydrological processes is an ongoing issue in many basins world widely[1,2,3,4]
This paper includes the consideration of solar radiation and calculates the snowmelt using the improved temperature index coupled with TOPMODEL25–28
The single-flow direction algorithm is adopted for the calculation of the topographical index based on the digital elevation model (DEM)
Summary
The deterioration of aquatic ecosystems due to changeable hydrological processes is an ongoing issue in many basins world widely[1,2,3,4]. Numerous watershed hydrologic models have been adopted for the simulation of streamflow in the last decades to solve watershed problems[14] These models include Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), and Hydrological Simulation Program Fortran (HSPF) and semi-distributed Topographic hydrologic model (TOPMODEL). The objective of this study is to simulate hydrological process using the improved TOPMODEL considering snowmelt and topographic index and identify the sensitive parameters for flow in the MRB, China. These results are expected to help us to further understand the mechanism of water movement in the arid area supplied from glaciers and snowmelt, generate more accurate discharge predictions and help planners to establish effective water utilization and allocation policies
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