Application of a Distributed, Physically Based, Hydrologic Model to Improve Streamflow Forecasts in the Headwaters of the Rio Grande
Abstract
A significant portion of the runoff in the Rio Grande begins as seasonal snowpack in the headwaters above the USGS stream gaging station at Del Norte, CO. Resource managers in the Rio Grande rely on accurate forecasts of water availability and flow at the Del Norte gage to make important decisions aimed at achieving a balance among the many different and competing water uses such as municipal, fish and wildlife, agricultural, and water quality. In this study, a distributed, physically based hydrologic model is used to investigate the degree of spatial and temporal distribution of snow and the processes that control snowmelt necessary to accurately simulate streamflow at the Del Norte gage. Specifically, snow distribution and surface runoff are estimated using a combination of the USGS Modular Modeling System (MMS), GIS Weasel, Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), and XYZ snow distribution model. The work represents a highly collaborative effort between researchers at the Desert Research Institute and the USGS as part of initial Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) goals to improve models of snow distribution and snowmelt processes.
- Publication:
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AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2001
- Bibcode:
- 2001AGUSM...H32C10B
- Keywords:
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- 1821 Floods;
- 1836 Hydrologic budget (1655);
- 1854 Precipitation (3354);
- 1860 Runoff and streamflow;
- 1863 Snow and ice (1827)