Surface Water Hydrology with GIS

This course, GIS 521, provided an introduction to techniques used toward understanding the principles behind watershed delineation and computer-based tools to facilitate this process. The primary software program used throughout the course was ArcHydro, but we were also introduced to HEC-GeoHMS 10.2, Whitebox, TauDEM, and ArcSWAT. I learned the basics of using the spatial analyst tools to perform watershed delineation, delineation with the above mentioned software packages and the primary differences among them, terrain analysis, hydrologic network analysis, water balance considerations, and simulations of watershed precipitation and evaporation. As with other coursework, a final project was expected, so I conducted a follow up to research begun in 1999 while I served in the US Peace Corps in Kenya, Save the Papyrus Project. During that experience, I mapped river and wetland portions of an an area known as Butula Division of Busia District, Kenya, using a bicycle, a hand held GPS, and visual observations.

To view the documents generated for this project, follow the link provided below.