We have developed a novel hydrologic process model called the Integrated Landscape Hydrology Model (ILHM), which is a framework of existing and novel codes to simulate the entire hydrologic cycle at large watershed scales. ILHM is capable of modeling all the major surface and near-surface hydrologic processes including evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, and stream discharge. In the first published application of the model, the ILHM-modeled stream flows compared favorably with measured data with a minimum of parameter calibration. It was tested for a small watershed (~130 square kilometers) in Michigan, and is currently being applied to much larger domains.

The figure on the left shows average simulated groundwater recharge over a 27 year period (1980-2006) for the Muskegon River Watershed in central lower Michigan. Calculated groundwater recharge values vary as much as 50% across the watershed within similar land use classes. Recharge also varies significantly between land use types.

The primary ILHM code is written in the MATLAB computing environment with some routines coded in C and FORTRAN. GIS inputs in a variety of formats can be used. Time-series inputs and parameter values are stored in MySQL, and model outputs are written to disk in HDF5 format.

Understanding dynamic watershed processes requires high spatial and temporal resolution simulations coupled to extensive databases of groundwater levels and stream flows. Our groundwater flow simulations are being integrated into a suite of tools to better understand the influence of land use and climate changes on water flows, nutrient fluxes to streams, and the health of aquatic ecosystems.

Related Publications:

Hyndman, DW, AD Kendall, and NRH Welty, (2007), Evaluating Temporal and Spatial Variations in Recharge and Streamflow Using the Integrated Landscape Hydrology Model (ILHM), AGU Monograph, Data Integration in Subsurface Hydrology

Kendall, AD, and DW Hyndman, (2007), Examining Watershed Processes Using Spectral Analysis of Hydrologic Time Series, AGU Monograph, Data Integration in Subsurface Hydrology

Jayawickreme, DH, and DW Hyndman, (2007), Evaluating the Influence of Land Cover on Seasonal Water Budgets Using Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) Rainfall and Streamflow Data, Water Resources Research, 43, W02408

Related Conference Abstracts:

Kendall, AD, and DW Hyndman, (2007), Simulating Fluxes Through Large Watersheds Using Remotely Sensed and Ground Based Datasets With the Integrated Landscape Hydrology Model ILHM, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs

Kendall, A, JA Bernstein, and DW Hyndman, (2007), Improving Regional Groundwater Recharge Models With A Network Of High-Resolution Temperature Recording Buttons, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs

Hyndman, DW, AD Kendall, (2006), The Integrated Landscape Hydrology Model (ILHM), a Fully-Distributed Approach to Simulate Regional Watershed Hydrologic Processes, H11A-1234, Eos Trans AGU

Kendall, AD, DW Hyndman, (2006), Predicting Streamflow, Groundwater Recharge, and Evapotranspiration at the Regional Scale with the Integrated Landscape Hydrology Model (ILHM), H31H-06, Eos Trans AGU