Model Library

Terrestrial Hydrology Model with Biogeochemistry (THMB)

Model name: Terrestrial Hydrology Model with Biogeochemistry (THMB)

Developed by: Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Last update: 2012)

Model type: Distributed grid, deterministic, dynamic, process-based, hydrological and biogeochemical, macro-scale watershed model

History: It was formerly known as HYDRA.

Computational requirements: N/A

Software requirements: GIS: optional

Link to download model

Capabilities and Limitations:

Capabilities

  • THMB is one of the few hydrological models that simulate the complete freshwater system;
  • THMB can be coupled with land surface models to enhance simulation accuracy;
  • The ability of THMB to simulate streamflow (discharge) and nutrient export has been tested in numerous studies, covering a wide range of scales and locations (VanLoocke et al., 2017).

Limitations

  • The equations of flow used in the model are approximations of fluid dynamics and do not include all aspects of backwater flooding (Coe et al., 2007);
  • The model does not simulate vegetation dynamics under a changing chemical climate, or forest species shift (Sun et al., 2023);
  • Operating on a 5-minute latitude-by-longitude grid with a 1-hour time step, THMB may not capture finer-scale hydrological and biogeochemical processes, potentially limiting its applicability in studies requiring high-resolution data (VanLoocke et al., 2017; Coe, 1998; Donner et al., 2002).

Model Inputs and Outputs:

Inputs

Topography, LULC, Evaporation rates, Surface runoff, Base flow, Precipitation, Discharge, Nutrients (optional), Management (optional).

Outputs

THMB simulates the flow of water through groundwater systems, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and nutrient transport and transformations within the hydrological cycle.

Examples:

References

VanLoocke, A., Twine, T. E., Kucharik, C. J., & Bernacchi, C. J. (2017). Assessing the potential to decrease the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone with Midwest US perennial cellulosic feedstock production. GCB Bioenergy, 9, 858-875. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12385

Ferin, K. M., Balson, T., Audia, E., Ward, A. S., Liess, S., Twine, T. E., & VanLoocke, A. (2023). Field-scale analysis of miscanthus production indicates climate change may increase the opportunity for water quality improvement in a key Iowa watershed. GCB Bioenergy, 15, 994–1010. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.13078

Objectives

The goal of this study was to quantify the change in streamflow and DIN export for the Mississippi–Atchafalaya River Basin under a range of large-scale cellulosic feedstock production scenarios.

The objective of this study was to quantify changes in crop productivity (i.e., total production) and water quality (i.e., N leaching, dissolved inorganic N (DIN) export) and quantity (i.e., streamflow) under future land use and climate change in the Raccoon River Basin (RRB).