A site-specific land and water management model in MIKE SHE

Abstract

This paper presents the development and characteristics of a site-specific physically based, spatially distributed model. The Grote Nete catchment model was built to simulate the various processes of the hydrological cycle, and their interactions with each other. It highlights the various stages of model development from conceptualisation and the underlying mathematical representation of hydrological processes, through the model set-up phase, and finally to the calibration and validation. MIKE SHE was chosen for its ability to generate a spatially distributed representation of the hydrological processes within a catchment, which was necessary for future scenario analysis. The equations coupled within the system include a three-dimensional Darcy equation in the saturated zone, the Richards equation for the unsaturated zone, the diffusion wave equation for areal overland flow and the fully dynamic Saint Venant equations for flow in channels. Evapotranspiration from the surface and subsurface are modelled using land cover and climatic factors to define the complete water budget using a physically based formulation. The paper presents the results of a multi-criteria evaluation protocol that included graphical and statistical testing, which involved the use of seven data comparison plots. Results of model calibration and validation against pre-established criteria are presented and discussed.

Climate change impact on river flows and catchment hydrology: a comparison of two spatially distributed models

“…Leaf area index and root depth were required in MIKE SHE and taken from Rubarenzya et al . (). Additional empirical parameters for determining the evapotranspiration of the canopy surface were assessed from literature (Kristensen and Jensen, ; DHI, ).…”

“…Through these strong interactions, seasonal groundwater fluctuations will strongly determine river discharges. The upward (wet periods) and downward (dry periods) movements of the groundwater table result in discharge variations: high baseflow during winter and very low discharges during summer (Batelaan et al ., ; Rubarenzya et al ., ; Woldeamlak et al ., ).…”

Water displacement by sewer infrastructure in the Grote Nete catchment, Belgium, and its hydrological regime effects

“…Only one potential evapotranspiration series was acquired from the national meteorological station located at Uccle, 30 km west of the study area, and applied. The growing cycle of the different crops was considered by means of a vegetation database that included leaf area index (LAI) and root depth (RD) and was based on Rubarenzya et al (2007). Additional empirical parameters for determining the evapotranspiration of the crops were assessed from the literature (Kristensen and Jensen, 1975;DHI Water and Environment, 2008).…”

“…The most sensitive parameters were iteratively and manually adjusted between predefined limits until maximal correspondence between measured and predicted discharge runoff downstream of the catchment was achieved. The predefined parameter value limits represent the physically acceptable intervals and have been assessed on the basis of previous modeling studies of the Grote Nete catchment (Rubarenzya et al, 2007;Woldeamlak et al, 2007) and the literature (Chow et al, 1988;Anderson and Woessner, 1991;DHI Water and Environment, 2008).…”

Integrated Surface–Subsurface Modeling of Fuxianhu Lake Catchment, Southwest China

“…Relevant field applications of MODHMS are limited to the stream-aquifer interaction study by Werner et al (2006), while MIKE SHE has been used extensively (e.g. Liu et al 2007;Rubarenzya et al 2007). Recent integrated modeling examples also include the investigation of Bauer et al (2006) that combined remote-sensing data with surface-subsurface modeling to evaluate deltaic flooding in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.…”