Advanced Modeling in Civil Engineering
Application of the SWAT Model in Monthly Runoff Simulation of the Merg River in the Mahidasht Plain, Kermanshah Province.
Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 PhD Student, Department of Water Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Water Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
3 PhD student, Department of Water Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Abstract
The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a continuous-time, semi-distributed model with GIS connectivity. This model can simulate hydrological processes in watersheds on a monthly basis using various data, including physical and meteorological data. In this study, the SWAT hydrological model was used to simulate runoff at the Khersabad hydrometric station on the Merg River over a 33-year statistical period (1990-2022). The first five-year period (1990-1995) was used for model warm-up, the next ten years (1995-2014) for calibration, and the final eight years (2015-2022) for model validation. The model was prepared using the SWAT-CUP optimization software and 16 different parameters. In the calibration phase, the coefficient of determination for monthly flow simulation was 0.61, and the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient was 0.61. In the validation phase, these values were estimated to be 0.77 and 0.78, respectively. Furthermore, in the validation phase, runoff volume and peak discharge were also evaluated, and relatively acceptable results were obtained compared to observed data for predicting these parameters in the mentioned period. Evaluations show that obtaining acceptable results from the SWAT model requires a large amount of information and accurate observational data. Considering that the studied river has been dry most of the time, especially in recent years, it can be said that the SWAT model has a relatively good ability to accurately simulate hydrological processes if complete data and information are available
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