Geoscientific Model Development www.geosci-model-dev.net 1991-959X 1991-9603 3 1 2010 10.5194/gmd-3-275-2010 http://www.geosci-model-dev.net/3/275/2010/ http://www.geosci-model-dev.net/3/275/2010/gmd-3-275-2010.html http://www.geosci-model-dev.net/3/275/2010/gmd-3-275-2010.pdf 275 291 2010-04-08 Modelling sediment export, retention and reservoir sedimentation in drylands with the WASA-SED model E. N. Mueller eva.mueller@uni-potsdam.de A. Güntner T. Francke G. Mamede Institute of Geoecology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany Department of Environmental and Technological Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Mossoró, Brazil Current soil erosion and reservoir sedimentation modelling at the meso-scale is still faced with intrinsic problems with regard to open scaling questions, data demand, computational efficiency and deficient implementations of retention and re-mobilisation processes for the river and reservoir networks. To overcome some limitations of current modelling approaches, the semi-process-based, spatially semi-distributed modelling framework WASA-SED (Vers. 1) was developed for water and sediment transport in large dryland catchments. The WASA-SED model simulates the runoff and erosion processes at the hillslope scale, the transport and retention processes of suspended and bedload fluxes in the river reaches and the retention and remobilisation processes of sediments in reservoirs. The modelling tool enables the evaluation of management options both for sustainable land-use change scenarios to reduce erosion in the headwater catchments as well as adequate reservoir management options to lessen sedimentation in large reservoirs and reservoir networks. The model concept, its spatial discretisation scheme and the numerical components of the hillslope, river and reservoir processes are described and a model application for the meso-scale dryland catchment Isábena in the Spanish Pre-Pyrenees (445 km²) is presented to demonstrate the capabilities, strengths and limits of the model framework. The example application showed that the model was able to reproduce runoff and sediment transport dynamics of highly erodible headwater badlands, the transient storage of sediments in the dryland river system, the bed elevation changes of the 93 hm³ Barasona reservoir due to sedimentation as well as the life expectancy of the reservoir under different management options. Ackers, P. and White, W. R.: Sediment transport: new approach and analysis, J. Hydr. Eng. Div.-ASCE, 99, 2041–2060, 1973. Appel, K.: Characterisation of badlands and modelling of soil erosion in the Isabena watershed, NE Spain, unpublished M.Sc. thesis, University of Potsdam, Germany, available at: http://brandenburg.geoecology.uni-potsdam.de/projekte/sesam/reports.php, 2006. Arnold, J. G., William, J. R., Nicks, A. D., and Sammons, N. B.: SWRRB (A basin scale simulation model for soil and water resources management), User's Manual, Texas A&M University Press, 195~pp., USA, 1989. Arnold, J. G., Williams, J. R., and Maidment, D. R.: Continuous-time water and sediment-routing model for large basins, J. Hydraul. Eng., 121, 171–183, 1995. Bagnold, R. A.: The flow of cohesionless grains in fluids, Philos. T. R. Soc. Lond A, 249, 235–297, 1956. Batalla, R. J., Garcia, C., and Balasch, J. C.: Total sediment load in a Mediterranean mountainous catchment (the Ribera Salada River, Catalan Pre-Pyrenees, NE Spain), Z. Geomorphol., 49(4), 495–514, 2005. Beven, K.: Rainfall-runoff modelling. The primer, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK, 2001. Boardman, J. and Favis-Mortlock, D.: Modelling soil erosion bywater, Series I: Global Environmental Change, Springer, Berlin, 55, 531 p., 1998. Breuer, L., Eckhardt, K., and Frede, H.-G.: Plant parameter values for models in temperate climates, Ecol. Model., 169, 237–293, 2003. CHEBRO: La Confederacion hidgroafica del Ebro, Zaragoza, Spain, 2002 (in Spanish). CHEBRO: Mapa "Fondos Aluviales" 1:50 000, available at: http://www.chebro.es/ContenidoCartoGeologia.htm (last access: 1 April 2010), 1993 (in Spanish). CHEBRO: Usos de Suelos (1984/1991/1995) de la cuenca hidrogr´afica del Ebro; 1:100 000, Consultora de M. Angel Fernández-Ruffete y Cereyo, Oficina de Planificación Hidrológica, C.H.E., available at: http://www.chebro.es/ (last access: 1 April 2010), 1998 (in Spanish). CSIC/IRNAS: Mapa de suelos (Clasificacion USDA, 1987), 1:1 Mio, Sevilla, SEISnet-website, available at: http://www.irnase.csic.es/ (last access: 1 April 2010), 2000 (in Spanish). Chow, V. T., Maidment, D. R., and Mays, L. W.: Applied Hydrology, in: Civil Engineering Series, McGraw-Hill Int. eds., Singapore, 1988. De Roo, A. P. J., Wesseling, C. G., and Ritsema, C. J.: LISEM: a single event physically-based hydrologic and soil erosion model for drainage basins. I: Theory, input and output, Hydrol. Processes, 10, 1107–1117, 1996. Everaert, W.: Empirical relations for the sediment transport capacity of interrill flow, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 16, 513–532, 1991. FAO: Global and national soils and terrain digital databases (SOTER), Procedures Manual, World Soil Resources Reports, No 74., FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Rome, Italy, 1993. FAO: Global Soil and Terrain Database (WORLD-SOTER), FAO, AGL (Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations, Land and Water Development Division), available at: http://www.fao.org/ag/AGL/agll/soter.htm., 2001. Foster, G. R. and Wischmeier, W. H.: Evaluating irregular slopes for soil loss prediction, T. ASAE, 17, 305–309, 1974. Francke, T., Güntner, A., Bronstert, A., Mamede, G., and Müller, E. N.: Automated catena-based discretisation of landscapes for the derivation of hydrological modelling units, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci., 22, 111–132, 2008. Francke, T., López-Tarazón, J. A., Vericat, D., Bronstert, A., and Batalla, R. J.: Flood-Based Analysis of High-Magnitude Sediment Transport Using a Non-Parametric Method, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 33(13), 2064–2077, 2008. Francke, T.: Measurement and Modelling of Water and Sediment Fluxes in Meso-Scale Dryland Catchments, Ph.D thesis, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, available at: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-31525, 2009. Gallart, F., Solé, A., Puigdefábregas, J., and Lázaro, R.: Badland Systems in the Mediterranean, in: Dryland rivers, edited by: Bull, L. J. and Kirkby, M. J., Hydrology and Geomorphology of Semi-arid Channels, 299–326, 2002. Graf, W. H. and Altinakar, M. S.: Fluvial hydraulics – flow and transport processes in channels of simple geometry, John Wiley & Sons LTDA, ISBN 0-471-97714-4, 1998. Green, W. H. and Ampt, G. A.: Studies on soil physics I. The flow of air and water through soils, J. Agr. Sci, 4, 1–24, 1911. Güntner, A.: Large-scale hydrological modelling in the semi-arid North-East of Brazil, Dissertation, Institut für Geoökologie, Universität Potsdam, PIK-Report, Nr 77, 2002. Güntner, A. and Bronstert, A.: Representation of landscape variability and lateral redistribution processes for large-scale hydrological modelling in semi-arid areas, J. Hydrol., 297, 136–161, 2004. Güntner, A., Krol, M. S., Ara\'ujo, J. C. d., and Bronstert, A.: Simple water balance modelling of surface reservoir systems in a large data-scarce semiarid region, Hydrol. Sci. J., 49(5), 901–918, 2004. Haan, C. T., Barfield, B. J., and Hayes, J. C.: Design hydrology and sedimentology for small catchments, Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1994. Han, Q. W.: A study on the non-equilibrium transportation of suspended load, Proc. Int. Symps. on River Sedimentation, Beijing, China, 2, 793–802, 1980. Han, Q. and He, M.: A mathematical model for reservoir sedimentation and fluvial processes, Int. J. Sediment Res., 5, 43–84, 1990. IRTCES: Lecture notes of the training course on reservoir sedimentation. International Research of Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation, Sediment Research Laboratory of Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 1985. Jetten, V.: LISEM user manual, version 2.x. Draft version January 2002. Utrecht Centre for Environment and Landscape Dynamics, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, 48~pp., 2002. Kirkby, M. J.: Physically based process model for hydrology, ecology and land degradation, in: Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use, edited by: Brandt, C. J. and Thornes, J. B., Wiley, UK, 1997. Krysanova, F., Wechsung, J., Arnold, R., Srinivasan, J., and Williams, J.: SWIM (Soil and Water Integrated Model), User Manual, PIK Report Nr 69, 239~pp., 2000. López-Tarazón, J. A., Batalla, R. J., Vericat, D., and Francke, T.: Suspended sediment transport in a highly erodible catchment: The river Isabena (Central Pyrenees), Geomorphology, 109, 210–221, 2009. Mamede, G.: Reservoir sedimentation in dryland catchments: Modelling and management, PhD~thesis, University of Potsdam, Germany, published on: http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2008/1704/, 2008. Maidment, D. R.: Handbook of hydrology, MGraw-Hill, 1424~pp., New York, 1993. Medeiros, P., Guntner, A., Francke, T., Mamede, G., and de Araujo, J. C.: Modelling spatio-temporal patterns of sediment yield and connectivity in a semi-arid catchment with the WASA-SED model, Hydrol. Sci. J., accepted, 2010. Meyer-Peter, E. and Müller, R.: Formulas for bedload transport, Proc. International Association of Hydraulic Research, 3rd Annual Conference, Stockholm, 39–64, 1948. Morgan, R. P. C.: Soil erosion and conservation Longman Group, UK, Limited, 304~pp., 1995. Morgan, R. P. C., Quinton, J. N., Smith, R. E., Govers, G., Poesen, J. W. A., Auerswald, K., Chisci, G., Torri, D., and Styczen, M. E.: The European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM): a dynamic approach for predicting sediment transport from fields and small catchments, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 23, 527–544, 1998. Müller, E. N., Batalla, R. J., and Bronstert, A. Dryland river modelling of water and sediment fluxes using a representative river stretch approach, Book chapter IN: Natural Systems and Global Change, German-Polish Seminar Turew, Poznan, 2006. Mueller, E. N., Francke, T., Batalla, R. J., and Bronstert, A.: Modelling the effects of land-use change on runoff and sediment yield for a meso-scale catchment in the Southern Pyrenees, CATENA, 79, 288–296, 2009. Mueller, E. N., Batalla, R. J., Garcia, C., and Bronstert, A.: Modelling bedload rates from fine grain-size patches during small floods in a gravel-bed river, J. Hydrol. Eng., 134, 1430–1439, 2008. Mueller, E. N.: Quantification of transient sediment storage in the riverbed for a dryland setting in NE Spain, SESAM Internet Resources, available at: http://brandenburg.geoecology.uni-potsdam.de/projekte/sesam/download/Projects/Project_Transient_Sediment_Storage.pdf, 2008. Nash, J. E. and Sutcliffe, V.: River flow forecasting through conceptual models, I. A discussion of principles, J. Hydrol., 10, 282–290, 1970. Neitsch, S. L., Arnold, J. G., Kiniry, J. R., Williams, J. R., and King, K. W.: Soil and Water Assessment Tool, Theoretical Documentation, Version 2000, Published by Texas Water Resources Institute, TWRI Report TR-191, 2002. Quinton, J.: Erosion and sediment transport, Book chapter in: Finding simplicity in complexity, edited by: Wainwright, J. and Mulligan, M., Environmental Modelling, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK, 2004. Rickenmann, D.: Comparison of bed load transport in torrents and gravel bed streams, Water Resour. Res., 37, 3295–3305, 2001. Schaap, M. G., Leij, F. J., and van Genuchten, M. Th.: ROSETTA: a computer program for estimating soil hydraulic parameters with hierarchical pedotransfer functions, J. Hydrol., 251, 163–176, 2001. Schmidt, J.: A mathematical model to simulate rainfall erosion, Catena Suppl., 19, 101–109, 1991. Schoklitsch, A.: Handbuch des Wasserbaus, 2nd edn., Springer, Vienna, 257~pp., 1950. Shuttleworth, J. and Wallace, J. S.: Evaporation from sparse crops – an energy combination theory, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 111, 839–855, 1985. Sivapalan, M., Viney, N. R., and Jeevaraj, C. G.: Water and salt balance modelling to predict the effects of land use changes in forested catchments. 3 The large scale model, Hydrol. Processes, 10, 429–446, 1996. Smart, G. M. and Jaeggi, M. N. R.: Sediment transport on steep slopes, Mitteil. 64, Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glaziologie, ETH-Zürich, Switzerland, 1983. Sidorchuk, A.: A dynamic model of gully erosion, in: Modelling soil erosion by water, edited by: Boardman, J. and Favis-Mortlock, D., NATO-Series I, Berlin, Heidelberg, 55, 451–460, 1998. Sidorchuk, A. and Sidorchuk, A.: Model for estimating gully morphology, IAHS Publ., Wallingford, 249, 333–343, 1998. USDA-SCS: USDA-SCS, Ephemeral Gully Erosion Model. EGEM. Version 2.0 DOS User Manual, Washington, 1992. Valero-Garcés, B. L., Navas, A., Machín, J., and Walling, D.: Sediment sources and siltation in mountain reservoirs: a case study from the Central Spanish Pyrenees, Geomorphology, 28, 23–41, 1999. Von Werner, K.: GIS-orientierte Methoden der digitalen Reliefanalyse zur Modellierung von Bodenerosion in kleinen Einzugsgebieten, Dissertation, Inst. f. Geographische Wissenschaften, TU Berlin, 1995. Williams, J.: The EPIC Model, in: Computer Models of Watershed Hydrology, edited by: Singh, V. P., Water Resources Publications, Highlands Ranch, CO, 909–1000, 1995. Wu, W., Rodi, W., and Wenka, T.: 3-D numerical modeling of flow and sediment transport in open channels, J. Hydrol. Eng., 126, 4–15, 2000. Wischmeier, W. and Smith, D.: Predicting rainfall erosion losses, US Gov. Print. Off, Washington, 1978. Yang, C. T. and Simoes, F. J. M.: User'smanual for GSTARS3 (Generalized Sediment Transport model for Alluvial River Simulation version 3.0), US Bureau of Reclamation Technical Service Center, Denver, CO, 80225, 2002.