GIS and Remote Sensing in Hydrology, Water Resources and Environment (Proceedings of ICGRHWE held at the Three Gorges Dam, China, September 2003). IAHS Publ. 289, 2004, 1-10

Abstract As more accurate precipitation measurements and terrestrial characteristics are built into hydrologic models, the foundation for making hydrologic predictions is undergoing substantial change. The recent decade has seen rapid development of sophisticated computer programs capable of using the rich information content of remotely sensed geospatial data describing vegetative cover or soil moisture; distributed maps of precipitation derived from gauges, radar, and satellite; and digital terrain maps representing the drainage network. The goal of distributed hydrologic modelling is to take into account the heterogeneity of the watershed with the aim of making more accurate and reliable hydrologic predictions. An important area of application for distributed models is flood forecasting in urban and rural areas. Distributed modelling is a growing field of application worldwide, with varying degrees of empiricism and physical basis. Distributed modelling is currently applied from small catchments to large river basins ranging in size from 100 km² to over 100 000 km².

Key words distributed hydrologic modelling; floods; forecasting; radar rainfall