Integrating Hourly Scale Hydrological Modeling and Remote Sensing Data for Flood Simulation and Hydrological Analysis in a Coastal Watershed

Abstract

Hourly scale hydrological modeling holds pivotal significance for flood-related research, as watershed floods often occur within a few hours of intense rainfall. Although the SWAT model’s hourly simulation has found application in a few watersheds, the relatively short usage history and limited scope inhibit a comprehensive grasp of its potential. In this study, a coastal watershed in Fukuyama City, Japan was selected as a case study for conducting hourly simulations. The study highlights the hourly simulation’s proficiency in capturing diverse flood trends while also accurately replicating baseflow and flood peaks within the 0 to 200 m3/s range. However, there is an underestimation of peak flows in calculations exceeding 200 m3/s. Moreover, empirical summaries have been generated to outline the parameterization process of hourly simulation, revealing how distinct parameters influence simulated runoff. For instance, it outlines how BFLO_DIST significantly affects baseflow simulation when operating in hourly mode. Our findings provide an empirical summary of the advantages, disadvantages, and parameterization process for hourly simulations of the SWAT model.