Dead Run 5, Catonsville, MD RHESSys model

RHESSys version 5.18.2 model for Dead Run 5 watershed (DR5) in Baltimore County, near Catonsville, MD. DR5 is a Piedmont headwater watershed composed of 1.5-km2 of urbanized land (40% impervious area) developed before contemporary stormwater regulations were enacted. Soils in the DR5 watershed are mostly silt loam and are characterized as being well drained to poorly drained (i.e. riparian areas). The study watershed lies within the greater Dead Run watershed, which is a 14-km2 sub-watershed of the 171.5-km2 Gwynns Falls watershed, draining into the Chesapeake Bay at Baltimore Harbor. Gwynns Falls serves as a main study site of the BES LTER. Continuous streamflow stage and discharge data for DR5 are available from a U.S. Geological Survey stream gauge (USGS gage ID 01589312).

This RHESSys model was developed using high-resolution local datasets provided by the NSF-funded Baltimore Ecosystem Study Long-Term Ecological Research Site (BES LTER). EcohydroLib (https://github.com/selimnairb/EcohydroLib) was used to assemble input datasets (see below) . RHESSysWorkflows (https://github.com/selimnairb/RHESSysWorkflows) was used to create RHESSys input files (e.g. world file, flow table, and soil and vegetation parameters). See metadata.txt for more detailed workflow metadata, including command history, as well as data provenance information.

Datasets:

Streamflow gage location: Coordinates from USGS NWIS (gage ID 01589312)
Digital Elevation Model (DEM): Custom DEM from 2007 Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES LTER) LIDAR
Landcover: Custom 2ft landcover from BES LTER
Surface soil texture: USDA SSURGO data served by U.S. Department of Agriculture WFS and SOAP tabular web services4
Vegetation leaf area index (LAI): Minimum LAI, peak LAI, and phenology derived from MODIS MOD 15 LAI and applied to biome types derived from landcover.
Storm drains/sewers: Baltimore County, MD
Climate data (temperature, precipitation): Bias-corrected Hydro-NEXRAD data (2000-2009)5. University of Maryland Baltimore County Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education tipping bucket gages (2009-present)6. Rain gage located at watershed outlet. Temperature data from BWI ASOS station.
Streamflow: USGS National Water Information System