Arthur C. Miller

A spatially distributed hydrologic model utilizing raster data structures

Abstract A distributed hydrologic model, known as the Terrestrial Hydrologic Model or THM was developed for use with rasterized databases to simulate surface runoff. Computations are performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis and all physical drainage basin properties including area, slope, stream length, and stream order are obtained or estimated from a digital elevation model (DEM). Other data sets, such as curve numbers or infiltration rates, are required for estimating the hydrologic abstractions. Precipitation is supplied in the form of gage input, uniform distributions, or raster data. At the present time, hydrologic abstractions can be estimated by any of three methods: a constant infiltration rate, the Soil Conservation Service curve number method, or solution of the more physically based Green-Ampt equation. Overland flow is computed by a kinematic wave approximation and channel routing is performed using the Muskingum-Cunge method.