A computational environment for water flow along floodplains

Abstract

A numerical model for the computer simulation of large floodplain inundations is presented. The model is extremely simple in order to achieve efficient computations in regions greater than 1000 km2. It is based on raster Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and rules for water interchange between neighbor cells. The computer implementation, AQUA code, includes facilities for interpolation of precipitation data, graphics visualization and interactive DEM modification for simulation of alternative scenarios. The numerical performance was analyzed in some simple cases and the model was applied to a 1600 km2 landscape corresponding to the region of Pehuajo in Argentina, which experiences frequent foodings.