TOPMODEL User Notes: Windows Version 97.01
TOPMODEL User Notes: Windows Version 97.01
TOPMODEL User Notes: Windows Version 97.01
Background to TOPMODEL
This program is intended as a demonstration version of TOPMODEL for PC-Windows
and has been developed from versions used for teaching purposes over a number of
years in the Environmental Science degree course at Lancaster University, including
TOPT9502 which is also available at the TOPMODEL Web site (see below) as a DOS
program and FORTRAN source code.
The development of TOPMODEL was initiated by Professor Mike Kirkby at the School
of Geography, University of Leeds under funding from the UK Natural Environment
Research Council in 1974. The first versions were programmed by Keith Beven in
Fortran IV on an ICL 1904S mainframe computer. The punched cards that were the
program hard storage medium at the time have sadly (thankfully?) long since
disappeared. Since 1974 there have been many variants of TOPMODEL developed at
Leeds, Lancaster and elsewhere but never a "definitive" version.
This has been quite intentional. TOPMODEL is not intended to be a traditional model
package but is more a collection of concepts that can be used where appropriate. It is
up to the user to verify that the assumptions made are appropriate (see the discussion
of limitations in Beven et al., 1995). This version of this program will be best suited to
catchments with shallow soils and moderate topography which do not suffer from
excessively long dry periods. Ideally, predicted contributing areas should be checked
against what actually happens in the catchment (at least qualitatively), so get your
wellies on!!
The model supplied here has deliberately not been provided with an automatic
optimisation routine (although since the model source code is available at the Web site,
it will be easy to strip out the graphics code and link the model to any of the available
optimisation routines, see for example, Press et al. , 1989). This is for two reasons:
Firstly, the user is encouraged to view the output from the model and think about how
the model is working. This is made possible, in part, by the fact that the results can be
mapped back into space and viewed by the user in their correct spatial context. In this
way, it may be concluded that this is not a good model to represent a particular
catchment (but by thinking about why it may be possible to improve the representation
in some relatively simple way). This is why the distributed nature of the model
predictions, combined with a simplicity of structure, is very important. Use it firstly as an
aid to understanding before it is used as a predictive tool.
Secondly, we do not believe that there is an optimum set of parameter values, even with
a model that is as parametrically parsimonious as TOPMODEL (see discussion in
Beven,1993) and do not want to encourage the practice of automatic optimisation. At
Lancaster we are now using Bayesian and Fuzzy Monte Carlo simulation to carry out
calibration/sensitivity analysis/uncertainty estimation based on many thousands of runs
(see Beven and Binley,1992; Freer et al., 1996). This version of TOPMODEL provides
an option for output of Monte carlo simulation results for later use with the compatible
GLUE package.
These programs have been prepared for distribution by Keith Beven, but the
TOPMODEL concepts have developed over a long period of time with contributions
from many people who have worked in and with the Lancaster TOPMODEL group :
especially Paul Quinn, Renata Romanowicz, Jim Freer, James Fisher, Rob Lamb, Kev
Buckley, Bruno Ambroise and Georges-Marie Saulnier. A PC version of TOPMODEL
was originally written in Fortran in 1985 and was revised for distribution in 1993 (see the
TOPMODEL Web Site information below). They were further revised in 1995 with the
addition of a number of ancillary programs for the TOPMODEL worskhop held at
Lancaster University. The current version was written during a sabbatical spent in the
HYDRAM group at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
The program is distributed freely with only two conditions.
1. In any use for commercial or paid consultancy purposes a suitable
royalty agreement must be negotiated with Lancaster University
(contact Keith Beven)
2. In any publication arising from use for research purposes the source
of the program should be properly acknowledged and a pre-print of
the publication sent to Keith Beven at the address below.
The TOPMODEL Web Site
The TOPMODEL Web site can be found on one of the Lancaster University Server Sites
at http://www.es.lancs.ac.uk/es/Freeware/Freeware.html.
The site contains further information about TOPMODEL including a (fairly) complete
bibliography, news bulletins and Frequently Asked Questions pages. Several different
programs can be downloaded, including some Fortran source code for both the model
and the GRIDATB digital terrain analysis program for deriving the topographic index
from raster elevation data. A number of auxillary analysis programs are also available.
TOPSIMPL, another Windows version of TOPMODEL written by Georges-Marie
Saulnier can also available be downloaded directly from the site.
Note that the interception/root zone component used here is very simple to reduce the
number of parameters to be specied and that no snowmelt component is included.
Previous versions of the model have included infiltration excess calculations and
parameters but these have been ommitted here for simplicity.
The calculations are made for areal subdivisions based on the NAC ln(a/tanB)
subdivisions. The saturation deficit for each subdivision is calculated from the mean
storage deficit, SBAR, at the start of each time step. Note also that the time step
calculations are explicit ie. SBAR at the start of a time step is used to determine
contributing area for that time step. Thus with long (daily) time steps contributing area
depends on the initial value together with any volume filling effect of daily inputs.
Baseflow at the start of a time step is used to update SBAR at the end of the time step.
Project Files
Each catchment application requires a project file. This file has only four lines as
follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
; File description
NAC, AREA
; No of ln(a/tanB) increments
; Total catchment area in km
; maximum
; No of distance increments
Not that improved fits should move the EFF criterion towards a maximum value of 1
while all the other criterion should move closer to zero.
If not all the time period of the simulation can be diplayed at one time, the hydrograph
can be scanned backwards and forwards using the arrow buttons (figure 1)
If a Topographic Index Map file is available then a map button is displayed. Clicking on
this button brings up a map of the topographic index and a map of the number of time
steps that a pixel is predicted as being saturated.
The saturated area can also be animated. Clicking on the animation button will bring up
a set of three control buttons. The stop button will return to the hydrograph screen; the
forward button steps through the simulation showing the saturated areas time step by
time step for periods of 50 time steps at a time; the fast forward button steps through
every 10 time steps. The period to be displayed can be set by the user in the
appropriate boxes. Clicking on the forward or fast forward buttons without resetting the
time counter will step through the period immediately following.
The Sensitivity Analysis Option
This screen allows the sensitivity of the objective functions to changes of one or more of
the parameters to be explored. An initial run of the model is made with the current
values of the parameters. Then each chosen parameter is varied across its range,
keeping the values of the other parameters constant. The results are displayed as small
graphs (see figure 3).
Click on the check boxes by each parameter name to include a parameter in the
analysis. Any of the current parameter values or minimum and maximum of the range
to be included can be changed on screen. Clicking on the Run Model button will start
the analysis.
Beven, K J. 1987, Towards the use of catchment geomorphology in flood frequency predictions, Earth
Surf. Process. Landf., 12, 69-82.
Wolock, D M, Hornberger, G M, Beven, K J and Campbell, W G. 1989 The relationship of catchment
topography and soil hydraulic characteristics to lake alkalinity in the Northeastern United States, Water
Resour. Res., 25, 829-837.
Wolock, D M, Hornberger, G M and T Musgrove, T. 1990, Topographic controls on episodic streamwater
acidification in Wales, J. Hydrol., 115, 243-259.
Wood, E F, Sivapalan, M and Beven, K J. 1990 Similarity and scale in catchment storm response, Rev.
Geophys. 28, 1-18
Sivapalan, M, Wood, E F and Beven, K J. 1990 On Hydrological Similarity: 3. A dimensionless flood
frequency distribution, Water Resour. Res., 26, 43-58.
Famiglietti, J S and Wood, E F. 1991 Evapotranspiration and runoff from large land areas: land surface
hydrology for atmospheric general circulation models. Surv. Geophys., 12, 179-204.
Quinn, P F, Beven, K, Chevallier, P and Planchon, O. 1991 The Prediction of Hillslope Flow Paths for
Distributed Hydrological Modelling Using Digital Terrain Models, Hydrological Processes,Water Resour.
Res. 5;59-79.
Wolock, D M and Hornberger, G M. 1991 Hydrological effects of changes in levels of atmospheric carbon
dioxide, J. Forecasting, 10, 105-116.
Famiglietti, J S, Wood, E F, Sivapalan, M and Thongs, D J. 1992 A catchment scale water balance model
for FIFE, J. Geophys. Res., 97(D17), 18997-19007.
Robson, A, Beven, K J and Neal, C. 1992 Towards identifying sources of subsurface flow: a comparison
of components identified by a physically based runoff model and those determined by chemical mixing
techniques, Hydro. Process., 6, 199-214.
Quinn, P F and K J Beven, 1993, Spatial and temporal predictions of soil moisture dynamics, runoff,
variable source areas and evapotranspiration for Plynlimon, mid- Wales, Hydrol. Process., 7, 425-448.
Robson, A J, Whitehead, P G and Johnson, R C. 1993 An application of a physically based semidistributed model to the Balquhidder catchments, J. Hydrol., 145, 357-370.
Romanowicz, R, Beven, K J and Moore, R V. 1993b, GIS and distributed hydrological models, in P M
Mather (Ed.), Geographical Information Handling - Research and Applications, Wiley, Chichester, 197205.
Wolock, D M, 1993, Simulating the variable-source-area concept of streamflow generation with the
watershed model TOPMODEL, U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 93-4124,
Lawrence, Kansas, 33 pp.
Iorgulescu, I and Jordan, J-P, 1994, Validation of TOPMODEL on a small Swiss catchment, J. Hydrol.,
159, 255-273.
Obled, Ch, Wendling, J and Beven, K J, 1994, The sensitivity of hydrological models to spatial rainfall
patterns: an evaluation using observed data, J. Hydrology, 159, 305-333.
Romanowicz, R, K J Beven and J Tawn, 1994, Evaluation of predictive uncertainty in nonlinear
hydrological models using a Bayesian approach, in V Barnett and K F Turkman (Eds.), Statistics for the
Environment. II. Water Reslated Issues, Wiley, Chichester, 297-317.
Band, L E and Moore, I D, 1995, Scale: landscape attributes and geographical information systems,
Hydrol. Process., 9, 401-422.
Beven, K.J. (1995) Linking parameters across scales:sub-grid parameterisations and scale dependent
hydrological models. Hydrological Processes, 9, 507-525.
Beven, K J, Lamb, R, Quinn, P F, Romanowicz, R and Freer, J, 1995, TOPMODEL, in V P Singh (Ed).
Computer Models of Watershed Hydrology, Water Resources Publications, 1995, 627-668.
Blazkova, S. & Beven, K.J. (1995) Modelovani car prekroceni maximalnich prutoku frekvencni verzi
TOPMODELU. J Hydrol Hydromech, 43, 148-172 (in Czech).
Blazkova, S, and Beven, K J, 1995, Frequency version of TOPMODEL as a tool for assessing the impact
of climate variability on flow sources and flood peaks, J. Hydrol. Hydromech., 43, 392-411.
Bruneau, P, Gascuel-Odoux, C, Robin, P, Merot, Ph, and Beven, K J, 1995 The sensitivity to space and
time resolution of a hydrological model using digital elevation data, Hydrological Processes, 9, 69-81.
Dietrich, W E, Reiss, R, Hsu, M-L, and Montgomery, D R, 1995, A process-based model for colluvial soil
depth and shallow landsliding using digitial elevation data, Hydrol. Process., 9, 383-400.
Fisher, J, 1995, The use of remote sensing and other system state estimates in the calibration of a
distributed hydrological model, Ph D Thesis, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
Fisher, J and Beven, K J, 1996, Modelling of streamflow at Slapton Wood using TOPMODEL
within an uncertainty estimation framework, Field Studies. 577-584.
Gyasi-Agyei, Y, Willgoose, G and de Troch, F P, 1995, Effects of vertical resolution and map scale of
digital elevation models on geomorphological parameters used in hydrology, Hydrol. Process., 9, 363382.
Kubota, J and Sivapalan, M, 1995, Towards a catchment-scale model of subsurface runoff generation
based on synthesis of small-scale process-based modelling and field studies, Hydrol. Process., 9, 541554.
Merot, Ph, B Ezzahar, C Walter and P Aurousseau, 1995, Mapping waterlogging of soils using digital
terrain models, Hydrological Processes, 9, 27-34.
Ostendorf, B., Quinn, P., Beven, K.J. & Tenhunen, J.D. (1995) Hydrological controls on ecosystem gas
exchange in an arctic landscape. In: Landscape Function and Disturbance in Arctic Tundra, Eds.
Reynolds, J.R. and Tenhunen, J.D., pp. , Ecological Studies 120, Springer-Verlag.
Quinn, P F, Beven, K J and Culf, A. 1995, The introduction of macroscale hydrological complexity into
land surface-atmosphere transfer function models and the effect on planetary boundary layer
development, J. Hydrology, 166, 421-444
Quinn, P F, Beven, K J and Lamb, R, 1995, The ln(a/tan) index: how to calculate it and how to use it in the
TOPMODEL framework. Hydrol. Process, 9, 161-182.
Robson, A J, Neal, C and Beven, K J, 1995, Linking mixing techniques to a hydrological framework - an
upland application, to appear in S Trudgill (Ed.) Solute Modelling in Catchment Systems, Wiley, 347-370
Robinson, J S and Sivapalan, M, 1995, Catchment-scale runoff generation model by agregation and
similarity analyses, Hydrol. Process. 9, 555-574.
Wolock, D M, and McCabe, G J, 1995, Comparison of single and multiple flow direction algorithms for
computing topographic parameters in TOPMODEL, Water Resources Research, 31, 5:1315-1324.
Wolock, D M, 1995, Effects of subbasin size on topographic characteristics and simulated flow paths in
Sleepers River watershed, Vermont, Water Resources Research, 31, 8:1989-1998.
Wood, E F, 1995, Scaling behaviour of hydrological fluxes and variables: empirical studies using a
hydrological model and remote sensing data Hydrol. Process., 9, 331-346.
Woods, R, Sivapalan, M and Duncan, M, 1995, Investigating the representative elementary area concept:
an approach based on field data, Hydrol. Process. 9, 291-312.
Ambroise, B, Beven, K J, and Freer, J, 1996, Towards a generalisation of the TOPMODEL concepts:
topographic indices of hydrological similarity, Water Resources Research, 32(7), 2135-2145.
Ambroise, B, Freer, J and Beven, K, 1996. Application of a generalised TOPMODEL to the small
Ringelbach catchment, Vosges, France, Water Resources Research, 32(7), 2147-2159.
.
Beven, K. J. 1996, Process, heterogeneity and scale in modelling soil moisture fluxes, in S. Sorooshian
and V K Gupta (Eds.) Global Environmental Change and Land Surface Process in Hydrology: The trials
and Tribulations of Modelling and Measuring. Proc. NATO ARW, Tucson, Arizona, to be published by
Springer-Verlag.
Florinsky, I and Kuryakova, G A, 1996, Influence of topography on some vegetation cover properties
Catena, 27, 123-141, 1996
Franchini, M, Wendling, J, Obled, C and Todini, E, 1996, Physical interpretation and sesitivity analysis of
the TOPMODEL, J. Hydrology,175, 293-338.
Freer, J, Beven, K J and Ambroise, B, 1996, Bayesian estimation of uncertainty in runoff prediction and
the value of data: an aplication of the GLUE approach, , Water Resources Research, 32(7), 2161-2173.
Lamb, R, 1996, Distributed hydrological prediction using generalised TOPMODEL concepts, PhD Thesis,
Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
Lepisto, A, 1996, Hydrological processes contributing to nitrogen leaching from forested catchments in
Nordic conditions, Monographs of the Boreal Environment Research No. 1, Finnish Environment Institute,
Helsinki, Finland.
Mller-Wohlfeil, D I, W. Lahmer, V. Krysanova, A. Becker., 1996, Topography based Hydrological
Modeling in the Elbe Drainage Basin. In: Proceedings, Third International Conference/Workshop on
Integrating GIS and Environmental Modeling, Santa Fe, NM, January 21-26
Nyberg, L, 1996, Spatial variability of soil water content in the covered catchment at Gardsjon Sweden,
Hydrol. Process., 10(1), 89-104.
Ostendorf, B. 1996, Modelling the influence of hydrological processes on spatial and temporal patterns of
CO2 soil efflux from an arctic tundra cathment. Arctic and Alpine Research, Vol. 28(3), 318-327.
Saulnier, G-M, 1996, Information pedologique spatialisee et traitements topographiques ameliores dans la
modelisation hydrologique par TOPMODEL, PhD Thesis, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble,
Grenoble, France.
Watson, F G R, Vertessy, R A and Band, L E, 1996, Distributed parameterization of a large scale water
balance model for an Australian forested region, in HydroGIS 96, Application of
Geographic Information Systems in Hydrology and Water Resources Management, IAHS Publ. No. 235,
157-166.
Myrab, S, 1997, Temporal and spatial scale of response area and groundwater variation in till,
Hydrological Processes, 11(14), 1861-1880
Piol, J, Beven, K J and Freer, J, 1997, Modelling the hydrological response of mediterranean
catchments, Prades, Catalonia - the use of distributed models as aids to hypothesis formulation, Hydrol.
Process., 11(9), 1287-1306
Saulnier, G-M, Beven, K J and Obled, Ch., 1997, Digital elevation analysis for distributed hydrological
modelling: reducing scale dependence in effective hydraulic conductivity values, Water Resources
Research, 33, 2097-2101.
Saulnier, G-M, Beven, K J and Obled, Ch., 1997, Analytical compensation between DTM grid resolution
and effective values of saturated hydraulic conductivity within the TOPMODEL framework, Hydrol.
Process., 11(9), 1331-1346
Tarboton, D G, 1997, A new method for the determination of flow directions and upslope areas in grid
digital elevation models, Water Resources Research, 33, 309-320.
Brasington, J and Richards, K, 1998, Interactions between model predictions, parameters and DTM
scales for TOPMODEL, Computer and Geosciences, 24(4), 299-314.
Datin, R, 1998, Outils oprationnels pour la prvision des crues rapides: traitement des incertitudes et
intgration des prvisions mtrologiques. Dveloppements de TOPMODEL pour la prise en compte de
la variabilitspatiale de la pluie. Application au bassin versant de lArdche. Thse de Doctorat,
Laboratoire dtude des Tansferts en Hydrologie et Environnement, Grenoble, France.
Franks, S W, Gineste, Ph, Beven, K J and Merot, Ph, 1998, On constraining the predictions of a
distributed model: the incorporation of fuzzy estimates of saturated areas into the calibration
process, Water Resources Research, 34, 787-797.
Lamb, R., K.J. Beven and S. Myrab, 1998, A generalised topographic-soils hydrological index, in S N
Lane, K S Richards and J H Chandler (Eds.), Landform Monitoring, Modelling and Analysis, Wiley,
Chichester, 263-278.
Moeschke, H, 1998, Abflussgeschehen im Bergwald.
Untersuchungen in drei bewaldeten
Kleineinzugsgebieten in Flysch der Tegernseer Berge, Forstliche Forschunsberichte Mnchen, Nr. 169.
Quinn, P F, Ostendorf, B, Beven, K J and Tenhunen, J, 1998, Spatial and temporal predictions of soil
moisture patterns and evaporative losses using TOPMODEL and the GAS-Flux model for an Alaskan
catchment, Hydrol. Earth System Sci., 2, 51-64.
Saulnier, G-M, Beven, K J and Obled, Ch., 1998, Including spatially variable soil depths in TOPMODEL,
J. Hydrology, 202, 158-172
TOPMODEL
Windows version 97.01
BUG REPORT
Name:
Address:
Details of Bug:
Please return this form to Keith Beven at the address below, ideally with an example
dataset which causes the bug.
Centre for Research on Environmental Systems and Statistics
Institute of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
Tel: (+44) 524 593892 Fax: (+44) 524 843854
Email: [email protected]