Development and testing of the HYPE (Hydrological Predictions for the Environment) water quality model for different spatial scales

Abstract

The HYPE model is a hydrological model for small-scale and large-scale assessments of water resources and water quality, developed at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute during 2005–2007. In the model, the landscape is divided into classes according to soil type, land use and altitude. In agricultural lands the soil is divided into three layers, each with individual computations of soil wetness and nutrient processes. The model simulates water flow and transport and turnover of nitrogen and phosphorus. Nutrients follow the same pathways as water in the model: surface runoff, macropore flow, tile drainage and outflow from individual soil layers. Rivers and lakes are described separately with routines for turnover of nutrients in each environment. Model parameters are global, or coupled to soil type or land use. The model was evaluated both by local calibrations to internal variables from different test basins and to data on discharge and nutrients from a large number of small basins. In addition, the estimated parameters were transferred to two larger basins in southern Sweden: River Rönneå and River Vindån. The resulting simulations were generally in good agreement with observations.