Xixi Wang, Ph.D., P.E.

Integration with GIS to Improve Analysis for Water Resources Using Distributed Watershed Models.

Distributed watershed models prove to be efficient tools for water resources analysis and management. However, because a large number of spatially varied parameters must be determined, the application of these models usually faces great challenges. These challenges can be alleviated by using a geographic information system (GIS), an information system for managing the data referenced by geographic coordinates, to derive most of the model parameters from various data layers (e.g., digital elevation model or DEM, and soil database). This approach has evolved into an interdisciplinary subject that focuses on the integration of GIS with distributed watershed models. In this emerging subject, there is a lack of researches about how to: 1) capture affects of man-made infrastructures (e.g., raised roads) on natural runoff processes; 2) incorporate the better information provided by high-resolution data that were unavailable in the past; 3) improve the accuracy of simulating watersheds with complex hydrologic processes; and 4) formulate an integrated spatial decision support system that is useful for water resources managers and policy makers.