Articles | Volume 27, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-159-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-159-2023
Technical note
 | 
09 Jan 2023
Technical note |  | 09 Jan 2023

Technical note: Extending the SWAT model to transport chemicals through tile and groundwater flow

Hendrik Rathjens, Jens Kiesel, Michael Winchell, Jeffrey Arnold, and Robin Sur

Related authors

Technical Note: Extending the SWAT2012 and SWAT+ models to simulate pesticide plant uptake processes
Hendrik Rathjens, Jens Kiesel, Jeffrey Arnold, Gerald Reinken, and Robin Sur
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-877,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-877, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Catchment hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Modelling approaches
Evaluating the effects of topography and land use change on hydrological signatures: a comparative study of two adjacent watersheds
Haifan Liu, Haochen Yan, and Mingfu Guan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2109–2132, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2109-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2109-2025, 2025
Short summary
Technical note: What does the Standardized Streamflow Index actually reflect? Insights and implications for hydrological drought analysis
Fabián Lema, Pablo A. Mendoza, Nicolás A. Vásquez, Naoki Mizukami, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, and Ximena Vargas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1981–2002, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1981-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1981-2025, 2025
Short summary
Long short-term memory networks for enhancing real-time flood forecasts: a case study for an underperforming hydrologic model
Sebastian Gegenleithner, Manuel Pirker, Clemens Dorfmann, Roman Kern, and Josef Schneider
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1939–1962, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1939-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1939-2025, 2025
Short summary
Assessing the value of high-resolution rainfall and streamflow data for hydrological modeling: an analysis based on 63 catchments in southeast China
Mahmut Tudaji, Yi Nan, and Fuqiang Tian
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1919–1937, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1919-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1919-2025, 2025
Short summary
Catchments do not strictly follow Budyko curves over multiple decades, but deviations are minor and predictable
Muhammad Ibrahim, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Ruud van der Ent, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1703–1723, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1703-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1703-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Arabi, M., Frankenberger, J. R., Engel, B., and Arnold, J. G.: Representation of agricultural management practices with SWAT, Hydrol. Process., 22, 3042–3055, 2008. 
Arnold, J. G., Srinivasan, R., Muttiah, R. S., and Williams, J. R.: Large-area hydrologic modeling and assessment: part I. model development, Am. Wat. Res., 34, 73–89, 1998. 
Bannwarth, M. A., Sangchan, W., Hugenschmidt, C., Lamers, M., Ingwersen, J., Ziegler, A. D., and Streck, T.: Pesticide transport simulation in a tropical catchment by SWAT, Environ. Pollut., 191, 70–79, 2014. 
Bayer Crop Science: Bayer Crop Science Internal Report 1, 144 pp., 2018. 
Bieger, K., Arnold, J. G., Rathjens, H., White, M. J., Bosch, D. D., Allen, P. M., Volk, M., and Srinivasan, R.: Introduction to SWAT+, A Completely Restructured Version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, J. Am. Water Resour. As., 53, 115–130, https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12482, 2017. 
Download
Short summary
The SWAT model can simulate the transport of water-soluble chemicals through the landscape but neglects the transport through groundwater or agricultural tile drains. These transport pathways are, however, important to assess the amount of chemicals in streams. We added this capability to the model, which significantly improved the simulation. The representation of all transport pathways in the model enables watershed managers to develop robust strategies for reducing chemicals in streams.
Share