Ungauged runoff simulation in Upper Manyame Catchment, Zimbabwe: Applications of the HEC-HMS model

Publication date: Available online 24 May 2016 Source:Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C Author(s): Webster Gumindoga, Donald T. Rwasoka, Innocent Nhapi, Timothy Dube The Hydrologic Engineering Centre Hydrologic Modelling System model was applied to simulate runoff in the ten gauged and ungauged Upper Manyame micro-catchments in Zimbabwe. Remote sensing and Geographic Information System techniques were used to determine the geometric and hydrologic parameters required for estimating model parameters. The Snyder Unit Hydrograph method was used for ungauged catchment simulations based on parameter transfer from gauged micro-catchments. The Marimba and Mukuvisi micro-catchments were considered as the gauged micro-catchments based on data completeness for the simulation period (2004-2010). Before extrapolating the calibrated model setup to eight ungauged micro-catchments, the feasibility of model parameter transferability was tested, using the proxy catchment approach and evaluated using the Nash Sutcliffe (NSE) and Relative Volume Error (RVE) criterion. Results showed that the model successfully predicted gauged catchment runoff and peakflows for the calibration (Marimba NSE= 68 %, RVE= -5.8 %; Mukuvisi NSE 64 %=, RVE= 8.9 %) and validation (Marimba NSE= 61 %, RVE= 8.1 %; Mukuvisi NSE 57 %=, RVE= -9.9 %) periods. The study demonstrates the suitability of HEC-HMS for continuous runoff simulation in a complex watershed with numerous micro-catchments and ch...

Source: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts ABC - May 23, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: research