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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Tucson, Arizona » SWRC » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #243503
Title: KINEROS2 and the AGWA Modeling Framework 2013

Author
item SEMMENS, D. - Us Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
item Goodrich, David - Dave
item Unkrich, Carl
item SMITH, R. - Retired ARS Employee
item WOOLHISER, D. - Retired ARS Employee
item MILLER, S. - University Of Wyoming

Submitted to: Cambridge University Press
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2007
Publication Date: 11/1/2008
Citation: Semmens, D.J., Goodrich, D.C., Unkrich, C.L., Smith, R.E., Woolhiser, D.A., Miller, S.N. 2008. KINEROS2 and the AGWA Modeling Framework. Chapter 5: In Hydrological Modelling in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas (H. Wheater, S. Sorooshian, and K. D. Sharma, Eds.). Cambridge University Press, London. Pp. 49-69.

Interpretive Summary: When water quantity or water quality is of interest, watersheds are a natural organizing unit in our landscape. Watersheds gather rainfall, infiltrated water, and runoff and typically discharge that water at a stream location or into a body of water such as a lake or estuary. The pathways and processes that affect runoff generation from a watershed result from a complex interaction of the climate, topography, soils, land cover, and land use. Numerous computer models have been developed to estimate how a watershed produces runoff from rainfall. The KINEROS2 model is one such model which can be obtained, with additional documentation and information, from www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/kineros. KINEROS2 and similar models require significant data preparation and input to use them. To expedite this task we have developed the AGWA (Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool (see: www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/agwa). This tool uses nationally available spatial data sets to setup, run, and display the results from KINEROS2. With AGWA and KINEROS2, natural resource managers, engineers, and scientists can readily estimate runoff and places in the watershed that may be prone to flood damage or water quality problems. These users can also evaluate how conservation measures and changes in land use practices might improve water quality. This paper provides an overview of KINEROS2 and AGWA tool with selected examples of its application for a variety of uses.

Technical Abstract: The Kinematic Runoff and Erosion Model, KINEROS2, is a distributed, physically-based, event model describing the processes of interception, dynamic infiltration, surface runoff, and erosion from watersheds characterized by predominantly overland flow. The watershed is conceptualized as a cascade of planes and channels, over which flow is routed in a top-down approach using a finite difference solution of the one-dimensional kinematic wave equations. KINEROS2 may be used to evaluate the effects of various artificial features such as urban developments, detention reservoirs, circular conduits, or lined channels on flood hydrographs and sediment yield.A geographic information system (GIS) user interface for KINEROS2, the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool, facilitates parameterization and calibration of the model. AGWA uses internationally available spatial datasets to delineate the watershed, subdivide it into model elements, and derive all necessary parameter inputs for each model element. AGWA also enables the spatial visualization and comparison of model results, and thus permits the assessment of hydrologic impacts associated with landscape change. The utilization of a GIS further provides a means of relating model results to other spatial information.