Review of GIS Applications in Hydrologic Modeling

Abstract

Geographic information systems (GIS) provide a digital representation of watershed characteristics used in hydrologic modeling. This paper summarizes past efforts and current trends in using digital terrain models and GIS to perform hydrologic analyses. Three methods of geographic information storage are discussed: raster or grid, triangulated irregular network, and contour‐based line networks. The computational, geographic, and hydrologic aspects of each datastorage method are analyzed. The use of remotely sensed data in GIS and hydrologic modeling is reviewed. Lumped parameter, physics‐based, and hybrid approaches to hydrologic modeling are discussed with respect to their geographic data inputs. Finally, several applications areas (e.g., floodplain hydrology, and erosion prediction) for GIS hydrology are described.