Thanos Papanicolaou
IIHR - Hydroscience & Engineering, The University of Iowa

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Application Note: Watershed Studies
 
Watershed modeling: Watershed related processes are non-linear in nature due to complex interactions in pedology, geology, biology and hydrology and remain all-together a challenging problem with several societal implications.  Some of the perplex questions associated with watershed processes are the effects of scale in monitoring and modeling, the integration of all phases (i.e., surface and subsurface) in monitoring and modeling, and the development of economic and environmental indicators for alternative scenarios and modeling assessment purposes.  Recognizing the critical need for developing an integrated and scientifically sound framework in watershed research, interdisciplinary groups began to emerge, beyond traditional discipline, some innovative concepts for watershed modeling.
   
Modeling the Jerome Creek sub-watershed: A new unmixing model was developed for land-use fingerprinting eroded-soil using d15N and C/N.  The model was specified within the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo framework and was capable of unmixing erosion sources characterized by multiple erosion processes.  A unique attribute of the formulation was the use of a truncation parameter to account for uncertainty during the erosion process.  The model was applied for fingerprinting soils from forest and agriculture land-uses in Jerome Creek sub-watershed of the Upper Palouse Watershed, Northwestern Idaho.  Multiple processes including upland rill erosion and floodplain headcut erosion are represented within the agriculture region of the Upper Palouse.  A sensitivity analysis for the unmixing model and comparison of the model with sediment yield estimates for the land-uses added confidence to the accuracy of the model.