Module - 8 Lecture Notes - 2: Remote Sensing-Remote Sensing Applications Rainfall-Runoff Modelling

Remote Sensing-Remote Sensing Applications
Rainfall-runoff modelling
MODULE 8 LECTURE NOTES 2

REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS IN RAINFALL-RUNOFF MODELLING
1.
Introduction
The most common application of the remote sensing techniques in the rainfall-runoff studies
is the estimation of the spatially distributed hydro-meteorological state variables that are
required for the modeling, e.g., rainfall, temperature, ET, soil moisture, surface
characteristics and land use land cover classes. Ability to achieve high spatial resolution and
aerial coverage is the major advantage of the remote sensing techniques over the
conventional methods.
Hydrologic models that incorporate the remote sensing information include regression
models, conceptual models, and distributed models. While selecting the hydrologic model for
integration with the remote sensing data, spatial resolution of the hydrologic model structure
and the input data must be comparable. Fine resolution data is relevant only if the hydrologic
model uses spatially distributed information of all the relevant input parameters sufficient to
capture the spatial heterogeneity, and also when the highly dynamic processes are monitored.
This lecture gives the details of the remote sensing-aided rainfall-runoff modeling using the
ArcGIS integrated Soil and Water Assessment Tool (ArcSWAT). Most of the figures and the
results shown in this lecture are from Reshmidevi and Nagesh Kumar (2013).
2. SWAT and ArcSWAT
Reshmidevi and Nagesh Kumar (2013) used the Soil and Water Assessment Toll (SWAT) for
rainfall-runoff simulation. SWAT is a river basin scale hydrological model developed for the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (Neitsch et
al. 2005).
Being a semi-distributed, continuous time model, it requires numerous spatial and attribute
inputs that represent weather, hydrology, soil properties, plant growth, nutrients, pesticides,
bacteria and pathogens, and land management.
Integration of SWAT with a user interface in a Geographic Information System (GIS)
environment provides the facility to input spatially referenced data and thereby enhances its
D Nagesh Kumar, IISc, Bangalore
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capability to represent spatial heterogeneity (e.g., AVSWAT, ArcSWAT). The schematic

flow of the SWAT integrated with a GIS framework (ArcView) is provided in Figure 1.
Fig. 1. Schematic of GIS integrated SWAT (Di Luzio et al., 2002)
In the study by Reshmidevi and Nagesh Kumar (2013), ArcSWAT (Winchell et al., 2007), a
recent version of the GIS integrated SWAT was selected. ArcSWAT is the ArcGIS interface
of SWAT. ArcSWAT uses various spatial and attribute data as input to the model and
produces the output of hydrologic simulations in the form of tables showing various water
budget components.
2.1 Study region and inputs to the ArcSWAT
As a case study, the catchment of Malaprabha reservoir in the Karnataka state of India was
taken up. It has an area of 2,564 km2. Fig. 2 shows the location map of the study area.
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Fig. 2 Location map of the Malaprabha catchment

Spatial data inputs
Spatially referenced data used in the ArcSWAT include DEM, land use / land cover map and
soil map.
DEM used in the study was the Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection
Radiometer (ASTER) Global DEM (GDEM) released by the Japans Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry (METI) and NASA, at a spatial resolution of 30m, generated using the
satellite remote sensing techniques. Fig. 3 shows the DEM of the study area.
In ArcSWAT, DEM was used to delineate the catchment boundary and to extract the
topographic characteristics related to hydrology.
Land use / land cover (LU/LC) map at 30m spatial resolution was generated from multiseason Landsat-7 ETM + imageries. Seven main LU/LC classes viz., water, agricultural land,
barren / fallow land, rocky area, forest, settlement and grass land were extracted in the first
step.
Fig. 4 shows the LU / LC of the Malaprabha catchment.
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Fig. 3 ASTER GDEM of the Malaprabha catchment
Fig. 4 Land use / land cover map of the Malaprabha catchment
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Based on the field information and the district statistical information about the crop
production, the agricultural area was further classified into various crop classes. Each of the
LU/LC classes was assigned to a corresponding SWAT class (Fig.5).
Soil map of the area was procured from the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use
Planning (NBSS & LUP), Nagpur. Fig.6 shows the soil map of the study area.
Fig.5 Assigning LU/LC information in ArcSWAT
Fig. 6 Soil map of the Malaprabha catchment
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Attribute data
Attribute data used as input to the model includes observed hydro-meteorological variables
namely stream flow, precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures, wind speed and
relative humidity.
Data at the streamflow gauging station recording the inflow to the Malaprabha reservoir on
daily time scale was obtained from Water Resources Development Organization (WRDO),
Karnataka, India, for the period 1978-2000.
Observed daily data of temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, and cloud cover at one
gauging stations namely Santhebasthewadi were obtained from the Directorate of Economics
and Statistics, Bangalore, for the period 1992-2003.
Spatial variation in the rainfall was accounted by using the rainfall observations at 9 stations
in the catchment.
Fig. 7 shows the locations of the raingauges, and the meteorological observatory in the
catchment.
Fig.7 Locations of the hydro-meteorological stations in the Malaprabha catchment
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2.2 Runoff simulation in ArcSWAT

The modified SCS curve number method (USDA-NRCS, 2004) included in the ArcSWAT
interface was used for the runoff simulation.
Delineating the sub-watershed boundaries, defining the Hydrologic response units (HRUs),
generating SWAT input files, creating agricultural management scenarios, executing SWAT
simulations, and reading and charting of results were all carried out by various tools available
in the interface. Data contained within HRU can include topographic characteristic,
information about water flow, land cover, erosion, depressional storage areas etc.
In ArcSWAT, hydrologic processes are simulated in two phases: land phase and the channel
phase.
The land phase was divided into various sub-basins, which were further disaggregated into
spatially homogeneous HRUs. Each HRU was vertically divided into the surface layer, root
zone, shallow aquifer and the deep aquifer layers as shown in Fig. 8. Hydrologic processes
considered at each layer are also shown in the figure.
Fig. 8 Schematic representation of the land phase hydrologic process simulated in SWAT
(Reshmi et al., 2008)
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The SWAT model estimates the water yield from a HRU for a time step, using eqn. 1. The
water leaving a HRU contributes to streamflow in the reach.
WYLD = SURQ + LATQ +GWQ TLOSS Pond abstractions
(1)
where SURQ, LATQ and GWQ represent contribution to streamflow in the reach from
surface runoff, lateral flow and groundwater, respectively, during the time step. TLOSS refers
to the amount of water lost from tributary channels during transmission. The groundwater is
primarily contributed by shallow aquifers.
Fig. 9 shows the sub-basins delineated in the Malaprabha catchment.
Fig.9 Sub-basins delineated in the Malaprabha Catchment
Soil, slope and LU / LC information were integrated with the sub-basin data and 94 HRUs
were delineated. ArcSWAT simulation estimated the hydrologic processes at each HRU and
for each sub-basin and the output was given in a tabular format as shown in Fig. 10 and 11,
respectively.
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Fig.10 HRU output in tabular form
Fig.11 Sub-basin output in tabular form
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Water yields from the sub-basins were routed through the channel and the streamflow at the
basin outlet (in this case outflow from sub-basin 1) was given in tabular format as shown in
Fig. 12.
Fig. 12. Channel output in tabular form generated by ArcSWAT
Setting up of the SWAT for any catchment involves calibration and validation phases. Here,
period from 1992 to 1999 was used for model calibration and the remaining period 20002003 was used for validation.
Fig. 13 shows the monthly streamflow hydrograph in the calibration and validation periods.
Table 3 shows the model performance indices for the monthly stream flow simulation.
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Fig.13 Monthly streamflow simulation for the calibration and validation periods
Table 3. Model performance indices for the Malaprabha catchment
Calibration period
Correlation
coefficient
0.963
Validation period
0.961
Statistical index
RMSE
(M.cu.m)
41.34
NMSE
NSE
0.074
0.925
18.10
0.075
0.923
RMSE: Root mean square error

NMSE: Normalized mean square error
NSE: Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency
3. Assessment of the impact of land use changes on the streamflow

With the help of satellite remote sensing, the dynamics of the land use pattern can be
effectively captured and assimilated in the model. The calibrated model can be run using
different LU/LC maps by altering the land use definitions at the HRU level.
This lecture demonstrates the use of satellite remote sensing data in rainfall-runoff modeling.
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Bibliography / Further Reading

1. DiLuzio, M., Srinivasan, R., Arnold, J. G., and Neitsch, S. L. (2002). ArcView
interface for SWAT2000, users guide. TWRI report TR-193, Texas Water Resources
Institute, Collage Station, Texas.
2. Nagesh Kumar D and Reshmidevi TV (2013). Remote sensing applications in water
resources J. Indian Institute of Sci., 93(2), 163-188.
3. Neitsch S L, Arnold J G, Kiniry J R, Williams J R. 2005. Soil and Water Assessment
Tool theoretical documentation. SWAT technical manual, Texas.
4. Reshmi T V, Christiansen A B, Badiger S, Barton D N. 2008. Hydrology and water
allocation: comprehensive database and integrated hydro-economic model for selected
water services in the Malaprabha River Basin. Report SNO 5695-2008, Norwegian
Institute for Water Research: Oslo, Norway.
5. Reshmidevi TV and Nagesh Kumar D. (2013) Modelling the impact of extensive
irrigation
on
the
groundwater
resources.
Hydrological
Processes.
Doi:10.1002/hyp.9615.
6. USDA-NRCS, (2004), Part 630: Hydrology. Chapter 10: Estimation of direct runoff
from storm rainfall: Hydraulics and hydrology: Technical references, In NRCS
National Engineering Handbook.Washington, D.C.: USDA National Resources
Conservation Service. Available at: www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/hydro/
7. Winchell M, Srinivasan R, Di Luzio M, Arnold J. 2007. ArcSWAT Interface for
SWAT2005: Users Guide. Blackland Research Center, Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station, Texas and Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory,
USDA Agricultural Research Service: Texas.
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