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Application of SMR to Modeling Watersheds in the Catskill Mountains

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Abstract

Very few hydrological models commonly used in watershed management are appropriate for simulating the saturation excess runoff. The Soil Moisture Routing model (SMR) was developed specifically to predict saturation excess runoff from variable source areas, especially for areas where shallow interflow controls saturation. A recent version of SMR was applied to two rural catchments in the Catskill Mountains to evaluate its ability to simulate the hydrology of these systems. Only readily available meteorological, topographical, and landuse information from published literature and governmental agencies was used. Measured and predicted streamflows showed relatively good agreement; the average Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency for the two watersheds were R 2=72% and R 2=63%. Distributed soil moisture contents and the locations of hydrologically sensitive areas were also predicted well.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-5701, USA

    Vishal K. Mehta, M. Todd Walter, Tammo S. Steenhuis, Michael F. Walter & Mark Johnson

  2. Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Moscow, ID, 83844, Russia

    Erin S. Brooks & Jan Boll

  3. New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection, Kingston, NY, 12401, USA

    Dominique Thongs

Authors
  1. Vishal K. Mehta
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  2. M. Todd Walter
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  3. Erin S. Brooks
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  4. Tammo S. Steenhuis
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  5. Michael F. Walter
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Correspondence to M. Todd Walter.

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Mehta, V.K., Walter, M.T., Brooks, E.S. et al. Application of SMR to Modeling Watersheds in the Catskill Mountains. Environmental Modeling & Assessment 9, 77–89 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ENMO.0000032096.13649.92

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ENMO.0000032096.13649.92

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