GIS-assisted distributed hydrological modelling in the High Boreal Forest of northern Manitoba

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to apply a macro scale deterministic hydrologic model to the High Boreal Forest region of northern Manitoba that is capable of providing accurate water yield estimates. Model parameters for the dominant types of land cover are derived from the literature to initiate model calibration.

The SLURP hydrologic model is a semi-distributed conceptual macro scale model that is proven to work well under a wide variety of basin conditions. The SLURP model was applied to the Taylor River (899 km²) and the Upper Burntwood River (6859 km²). Geographic Information Systems were utilized to develop the physiographic parameters for each of the basin Aggregation Simulation Areas.

The SLURP model was calibrated and verified on the Taylor River for each year between 1985 and 2000. A relatively small number of parameters were adjusted in order to optimize the modelling performance. Overall, SLURP performed satisfactorily as illustrated by an average annual Nash Sutcliff Efficiency (NSE) of 61% and Deviation from Runoff Volume (D_v) of ±12%. The same model parameters were applied to the Upper Burntwood River with the exception of elevated ET parameters. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)