Rakesh Bahadur, Christopher Ziemniak, David E. Amstutz, William B. Samuels

Show more
Center for Water Science and Engineering, Science Applications International Corporation, McLean, USA.
Show less

Abstract: Using geographic information system techniques, elevation derived datasets such as flow accumulation, flow direction, hillsope and flow length were used to delineate river basin boundaries and networks. These datasets included both HYDRO1K (based on 1 kmresolution DEM) and HydroSHEDs (based on100 meterShuttle Radar Topography Mission). Additional spatial data processing of global landuse and soil type data were used to derive grids representing soil depth, texture, hydraulic conductivity, water holding capacity, and curve number. These grids were input to the Geospatial Stream Flow model to calculate overland flow (both travel time and velocity). The model was applied to river basins across several continents to calculate river discharge and velocity based on the use of satellite derived rainfall estimates, numerical weather forecast fields, and geographic data sets describing the land surface. Model output was compared to historical stream gauge observations as a validation step. The stream networks with associated discharge and velocity are used as input to a riverine water contamination model.

Keywords: Hydrology; Geographic Information Systems; Surface Water

Cite this paper: R. Bahadur, C. Ziemniak, D. Amstutz and W. Samuels, "Global River Basin Modeling and Contaminant Transport," American Journal of Climate Change, Vol. 2 No. 2, 2013, pp. 138-146. doi: 10.4236/ajcc.2013.22014.

References

[1]   C. R. Horn, S. A. Hanson and L. D. McKay, “History of the US EPA’s River Reach File: A National Hydrographic Database Available for ARC/INFO Applications,” 1994. www.epa.gov/waters/doc/historyrf.pdf

[2]   C. R. Horn and W. M. Grayman, “Water Quality Modeling with the EPA Reach File System,” Journal Water Resources Planning and Management, Vol. 119, No. 2, 1993, pp. 262-274. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(1993)119:2(262)

[3]   D. R. Maidment, “Arc Hydro GIS for Water Resources,” ESRI Press, Redlands, 2002.

[4]   B. DeVantier and A. Feldman,”Review of GIS Applications in Hydrologic Modeling,” Journal Water Resources Planning Management, Vol. 119, No. 2, 1993, pp. 246261. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(1993)119:2(246)

[5]   W. B. Samuels, and D. Ryan, “ICWater: Incident Command Tool for Protecting Drinking Water,” Proceedings ESRI International User Conference, San Diego, 25-29 July 2005.

[6]   GTN-R, “Global Terrestrial Network for River Discharge (GTN-R),” 2007. http://www.bafg.de/GRDC/EN/04_spcldtbss/44_GTNR/gtnr_node.html

[7]   K. O. Asante, G. A. Artan, S. Pervez, C. Bandaragoda and J. P. Verdin, “Technical Manual for the Geospatial Stream Flow Model (GeoSFM): US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1441,” US Geological Survey, Reston, 2008, p. 65

[8]   G. Artan, J. Verdin and K. Asante, “A Wide-Area Flood Risk Monitoring Model,” Proceedings of the Fifth International Workshop on Application of Remote Sensing in Hydrology, Montpellier, 2-5 October 2001.

[9]   J. P. Pickus, J. Johnson, M. Chehata, R. Bahadur, D. E. Amstutz and W. B. Samuels, “Development of a Global River Transport and Observation Network,” Proceedings AWRA GIS Specialty Conference, San Mateo, 17-19 March 2008.

[10]   K. O. Asante, R. D. Macuacua, G. A. Artan, R. W. Lietzow and J. P. Verdin, “Developing a Flood Monitoring System from Remotely Sensed Data for the Limpopo Basin,” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Vol. 45, No. 6, 2007, pp. 1709-1714. doi:10.1109/TGRS.2006.883147

[11]   USGS, “HYDRO1K Elevation Derivative Database,” 2006. http://eros.usgs.gov/products/elevation/gtopo30/hydro/index.html

[12]   W. B. Samuels and D. E. Amstutz, “Using HydroSHEDS and GeoSFM to Calculate River Discharge,” Proceedings International Perspective on Environmental and Water Resources, Bangkok, 5-7 January 2009.

[13]   WWF, “HydroSHEDS Overview,” 2007. http://www.worldwildlife.org/hydrosheds

[14]   FAO, “Digital Soil Map of the World and Derived Properties on CD-ROM,” 1997. http://www.fao.org/AG/agl/agll/dsmw.htm

[15]   USGS, “Global Land Cover Characterization (GLCC),” 2006. http://eros.usgs.gov/products/landcover/glcc.html

[16]   R. J. Joyce, J. E. Janowiak, P. A. Arkin and P. Xie, “CMORPH: A Method that Produces Global Precipitation Estimates from Passive Microwave and Infrared Data at High Spatial and Temporal Resolution,” Journal Hydrometeorology, Vol. 5, 2007, pp. 487-503. doi:10.1175/1525-7541(2004)005<0487:CAMTPG>2.0.CO;2

[17]   W. J. Shuttleworth, “Evaporation,” In: D. Maidment, Ed., Handbook of Hydrology, McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, 1992.

[18]   USGS, “Global Potential Evapotranspiration (PET),” 2007. http://earlywarning.usgs.gov/adds/global/web/imgbrowsc2.php?extent=glpt

[19]   WMI, “Major watersheds of the world,” 2003. http://www.wri.org/publication/watersheds-of-the-world

[20]   WRI, “Major watersheds of the world,” 2003. http://pdf.wri.org/watersheds_2003/gm1.pdf

[21]   OSCE/UNECE, “Transboundary Diagnostic Study for the Dniester River Basin,” Environment, Housing and Land Management Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, November 2005.

[22]   ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE, “Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. Our Waters: Joining Hands Across Borders,” First Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters, 2007. http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/blanks/assessment/assessment_full.pdf

[23]   Mekong River Commission, “Overview of the Hydrology of the Mekong Basin,” Mekong River Commission, Vientiane, November 2005, p. 73.

[24]   W. B. Samuels, D. E. Amstutz, R. Bahadur and J. M. Pickus, “RiverSpill: A National Application for Drinking Water Protection,” Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. Vol. 132, No. 4, 2006, pp. 393-403. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2006)132:4(393)

[25]   Independent of UK, “Cyanide Leak Heads towards Danube Killing Every Living Thing in Its Path,” 2000. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/021400-02.htm

[26]   BBC, “Cyanide spill reaches Danube,” 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/641566.stm

[27]   New York Times, “Cyanide Spill Kills Danube Fish,” 2000. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/14/world/cyanide-spill-kills-danube-fish.html