Computer Simulation of the Hydrology System of Mountain Watersheds

摘要

A digital computer program has been designed to simulate watershed hydrology. The watershed parameter values which must be supplied to the program are all potentially estimable from short term observations made in the watershed. This is a desirable feature not present in other extant models. Input to the model is weather data, and output includes sequential rates of discarge from the various parts of the system, sequential evapotranspiration data, and sequential storage data. The storage requirements of the program do not exceed the number of registers available in modern computer storage units. The amount of computer run-time required and the large amount of input data required limit the application of the model to small watersheds which merit the expenditure of several thousand dollars. The accuracy of the model has not been definitively tested, but the results of the initial runs combined with field investigation of actual watersheds suggest that the transport equations in the program will have to be modified before an acceptable level of accuracy is obtained. (WRSIC abstract).