PhD Thesis Emmanuel Obeng Bekoe - Cranfield University
PhD Thesis Emmanuel Obeng Bekoe - Cranfield University
PhD Thesis Emmanuel Obeng Bekoe - Cranfield University
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1. That the two sensitivities have been conducted at two different climatic<br />
regions i.e Kwazulu Natal in the semi arid climatic region as against the<br />
Densu catchment in the tropical region.<br />
2. DEPAHO is a soil parameter given by the depth of the A horizon of soils.<br />
Further, the SMDDEP (effective depth of the soil from which stormflow<br />
generation takes place) parameter is known to be very shallow (0.1m) in<br />
semi arid regions (Schulze 1995) which are characterised by high<br />
intensity convective rainfall, so that the response to stormflow could be<br />
high (Schulze, 1995). In the ACRU model the default value of SMDDEP<br />
is taken to be the depth of DEPAHO if it is not known, since it is always ≤<br />
DEPAHO (Schulze, 1995), meaning that the smaller SMDDEP the higher<br />
the stormflow and vice versa. Since the DEPAHO of the soils of the<br />
Kwazulu Natal province in the semi arid zone as indicated by Shulze<br />
(1995) are very shallow (0.1m) and that of the Densu catchment are<br />
around 0.3m, it is apparent that the smaller DEPAHO and SMDDEP<br />
requires less rainfall to bring the soil up to field capacity so as to<br />
generate stormflows and hence be more sensitive to the soils of semi<br />
arid regions than that of the tropical Densu catchment.<br />
3. Comparing the vegetative covers of the Kwazulu Natal province with that<br />
of the Densu catchment, the vegetation (land cover) of the semi arid<br />
Kwazulu Natal is sparser than the tropical Densu which is nearly covered<br />
throughout the year. In its simulations ACRU is sensitive to seasonal<br />
above and below-ground vegetation/land cover changes (Schulze, 1995).<br />
CAY which is a vegetation dependent parameter is more sensitive when<br />
CAY is decreased than when it is increased in the Densu (Figure 5.5). In<br />
the ACRU model typical values of the crop coefficient (CAY) have to be<br />
specified month-by-month. If there is more than one homogeneous land<br />
cover/use zone specified for the catchment, then for each "zone" the<br />
percentage area covered by the zone is also given and the land use<br />
utility facility in the model will compute an area-weighted monthly CAY.<br />
The Densu weighted CAY’s were found to be higher than the Kwazulu<br />
Natal monthly values. As CAY’s have a direct relationship with the stage<br />
<strong>Emmanuel</strong> <strong>Obeng</strong> <strong>Bekoe</strong> Phd <strong>Thesis</strong> Chapter 5 Hydrological modelling of Densu