Modelling Canadian prairie wetland hydrology using a semi-distributed streamflow model

✍ Scribed by M. Su; W. J Stolte; G van der Kamp

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 345 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6087
• DOI: 10.1002/1099-1085(20001015)14:14<2405::aid-hyp92>3.0.co;2-b

✦ Synopsis

A hydrological model (SLURP) that was designed for simulating hydrological processes taking place in large river basins was, with minimal modi®cation, used successfully to simulate water level variations over a 28-year period (1969±1996) for a 3-ha prairie wetland in Saskatchewan.

The model calculates a water balance based on precipitation, snowmelt, evaporation, surface runo and subsurface ¯ow on a daily time-step. The model was ®rst calibrated for two periods (1969±1973 for cropland and 1987±1990 for grassland), then it was applied to records outside the calibration periods. The model reproduced the wetland water level variations during a 28-year period with good accuracy. The wetland water levels were most sensitive to the in®ltration coecient of surface soil under frozen conditions and to maximum soil moisture storage. The applicability of the model and the calibrated parameters to a smaller wetland, with an area of 0Á24 ha, was examined. This simulation indicated that scale eects are important, probably largely in relation to snow redistribution by wind.