Hydrologic modelling of Humber River Basin

Chowdhury, Hasab-Ul Alam (2019) Hydrologic modelling of Humber River Basin. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The physiographic features of Newfoundland create many challenges for hydrological analysis of watersheds on the island. The most recent glaciations have deepened valleys and altered drainage networks due to the deposition of glacial drift material. The Humber River Basin (HRB), located on the west coast of Newfoundland, is the second largest river basin (7068 Km²) on the island, and several communities within the basin are subject to flooding due to extreme events. It is expected that the magnitude and frequency of extreme events will increase with climate change, and impact analyses are required to assess vulnerability of communities within the basin to climate change. For proper assessment, a hydrologic model is indispensable for the watershed in this complex terrain. The present study analyzed the streamflow derived from the drainage basin by cold regions hydrological simulation. The Cold Regions Hydrological Modelling platform (CRHM) was used to create a hydrological model for HRB boreal regions with physically-based modules were also sequentially linked in CRHM to simulate snow processes, frozen soils, variable contributing area and wetland storage and runoff generation. Nine “research basins” (RBs) were defined and each was divided into thirteen hydrological response units (HRUs): forest, forest wetland, roads, settlement, cropland, trees, treed wetland, water, grassland unmanaged, other land, wetland, wetland shrub, wetland herb etc. Model observation data such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and precipitation were collected from Environment Canada weather stations. Various model parameters were estimated by using SRTM digital elevation model (DEM), the advanced very high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) land cover data, and stream network and wetland inventory GIS data. Some parameters were collected from Lower Smoky River Basin datasets. Model simulations were conducted for 2001-2010 and calibration was performed. The model performance for streamflow was evaluated against field observations and it could capture the timing and magnitude of basin discharge but underestimated the peak discharge.

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