Testing the hybrid-3-D hillslope hydrological model in a controlled environment

Recently, we developed a hybrid-3-D (h3D) hillslope hydrological model that gives similar results as a full 3-D hydrological model but is up to 2–3 orders of magnitude faster computationally. Here h3D is assessed using a number of recharge-drainage experiments within the Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) with accurate and high-resolution (both temporally and spatially) observations of the inputs, outputs, and storage dynamics of several hillslopes.

Such detailed measurements are generally not available for real-world hillslopes. Results show that the h3D model captures the observed storage, base flow, and overland flow dynamics of both the larger LEO and the smaller miniLEO hillslopes very well. Sensitivity tests are also performed to understand h3Ds difficulty in representing the height of the saturated zone close to the seepage face of the miniLEO hillslope.