ABSTRACT
James F. Limbrunner, Richard M. Vogel, and Steven C. Chapra
A parsimonious daily water balance model that has only four adjustable parameters is presented. It combines empiricism and mechanistically based elements, following in the tradition of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resource Conservation Service [NRCS]) Curve Number (CN) method (USDA-SCS, 1983, 1986). The model simulates daily variations in evapotranspiration, soil moisture, saturated groundwater, groundwater outflow, snow accumulation, snowmelt, and streamflow. Since this model makes so many simplistic assumptions, it gives only a rough approximation to the hydrologic behavior of the watershed, and as a result is only intended for planning-level studies. On the other hand, its parsimonious nature and its use of the CN method offer many advantages over alternative models as is discussed below.
