Improving Hydrological Modeling with Topkapi by the Development of an
Irrigation and Open-Channel Flow Module. Application Test in the
Achibueno River Basin (Chile)
Abstract
This study focuses on the design, implementation and performance
evaluation of a new irrigation and open-channel module into the
well-known Topkapi distributed model. The Topkapi was implemented
through the PyTopkapi library. The research framework encompasses the
integration of an irrigation simulation module alongside a sophisticated
kinematic wave model, designed to emulate the intricate dynamics of
surface flow transport in irrigation channels, thereby enriching the
structural composition of the overall model. The performance of the
improved model was tested in the Achibueno River basin (Chile)
strategically positioned in the southern reaches of the Maule region,
encompassing a substantial land expanse of 1578 km 2
with a very important agricultural activity and a subsequent important
presence of open-channels for its water distribution network. The
dataset utilized for this comprehensive assessment spans a temporal
continuum from 1979 to 2005 and has been meticulously curated from the
historical archives of the CR2 institution. The evaluation of model
performance is executed through the application of the Nash and Nash-ln
coefficients, enabling a nuanced understanding of the model’s
proficiency. Two distinct scenarios are meticulously considered
throughout the assessment: one wherein the irrigation module is absent
from the model configuration, and another wherein the irrigation module
is integrated into the model’s structural framework. The findings
emanating from our results underscore a discernible augmentation in the
operational efficiency of PyTopkapi to the extent of approximately 17%
when the irrigation module is applied (NSE moving from 0.63 to 0.74 for
the calibration period and 0.54 to 0.64 for the validation period). This
heightened efficiency manifests notably during the transport of flow
through channels, where the kinematic wave model plays a pivotal role in
orchestrating the dynamics of surface water movement.