Evaluating the satellite-derived DEM accuracy with rain-on-grid modeling for flood hydrograph prediction of Katulampa Watershed, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

In this study, we investigated the applicability of five open-access, satellite-derived DEMs with resolutions of ∼90 m (MERIT-Hydro and TanDEM-X), ∼30 m (SRTM and ALOS), and ∼8.1 m (DEMNAS) to rain-on-grid modeling (with HEC-RAS) for flood hydrograph prediction in the Katulampa watershed, Indonesia. Additionally, the influence of the Manning coefficient and infiltration values on the modeling results was also investigated based on three types of land use (forest, agriculture, and urban area). It was shown that ALOS (∼30 m) was the most accurate data among other DEMs to predict flood hydrographs. Interestingly, MERIT-Hydro (∼90 m) significantly outperformed SRTM (∼30 m) and DEMNAS (∼8.1 m), indicating that DEMs with finer-resolution are not necessarily more accurate than coarser-resolution DEMs for rain-on-grid modeling. Furthermore, we observed that the modeling results were strongly influenced by the Manning coefficient and infiltration values, indicating the importance of calibration for such values. Based on 279 combinations carried out, only agriculture was sensitive to both Manning coefficient and infiltration values, while forest and urban were not. The Manning coefficients calibrated for each land use data were similar for different flood events. However, only the infiltration values calibrated for agriculture were distinct for different flood events, thus emphasizing the need for individual calibrations of infiltration values for each event. Our findings are useful to demonstrate how rain-on-grid modeling – with proper DEM data and the calibrated Manning coefficient and infiltration values – can be utilized for accurate flood hydrograph predictions.

KEYWORDS:

• DEM
• Katulampa
• HEC-RAS
• rain-on-grid
• satellite-derived

Funding details

This work was supported by Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat (LPPM) Parahyangan Catholic University under grant number [III/LPPM/2023-02/35-P].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgment

The fruitful discussions with Theo Senjaya are highly appreciated.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bobby Minola Ginting

Bobby Minola Ginting obtained a doctoral degree (2019) from the Chair for Computation in Engineering of Technical University of Munich (Germany), focusing on parallel computing for computational hydraulics, and a bachelor's (2010) and a master's (2011) degree both with cumlaude/first-class honor predicate from the Department of Civil Engineering of Bandung Institute of Technology (Indonesia). Currently, Bobby serves as an assistant professor at Parahyangan Catholic University (Indonesia).

Prilla Lidyana

Prilla Lidyana holds a master's and a bachelor's degree from the Department of Civil Engineering of Parahyangan Catholic University (Indonesia) as well as a master's degree from the School of Business and Management of Bandung Institute of Technology (Indonesia). Prilla currently works as a lecturer at Parahyangan Catholic University.

Cleon Christopher

Cleon Christopher is a professional civil engineer and holds a master's and a bachelor's degree from the Department of Civil Engineering of Parahyangan Catholic University (Indonesia).

Doddi Yudianto

Doddi Yudianto officially joined the Civil Engineering Department of Parahyangan Catholic University in 2003. For years he has been actively delivering various water resources courses at the university and involving in many water and environmental research projects at both national and international level. Since 2011, he has been taking structural responsibilities at the university, such as deputy of civil engineering department, head of civil engineering department, vice dean for academic affairs, head of hydraulics laboratory, and dean of faculty of engineering. He has a strong interest in hydrology and hydraulics modeling, urban flood studies, and river pollution control.

Xie Yuebo

Xie Yuebo is a senior professor at Hydrology and Water Resources Department of Hohai University, Nanjing, China. He has been teaching and conducting research works in hydrology and environmental studies for many years. Under the National Engineering Research Center of Water Resources Efficient Utilization and Engineering Safety, he has accomplished various hydrological studies and the restoration of polluted urban river, lake, and reservoir. He introduced the bioremediation technology that is now widely applied in the whole country.