A BRIEF REVIEW ON ADVANCEMENT OF SWAT HYDROLOGIC SIMULATOR: AN OUTLINE FOR FUTURE STUDIES

Tremendous advances in hydrological computation and modeling have been achieved in past decades. These are due to the ability to achieve higher model accuracy and less discrepancy in predictions of hydro-meteorological phenomena as well as the better simulation of hydrological parameters in regard of water resource management. One group of state of the art techniques is called semi-distributed simulators, which has been found dynamic and practical in watershed modeling. The major objective of the present study is to review the recent advances a semi-distributed hydrological model known as Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Recent advancement of SWAT model have been classified in to different according to the approaches used for enhancement, such as, dynamic land use update procedure, soil moisture index method (SMI), climate forecast system reanalysis (CFSR) data, and downscaled global climate model. The study revealed that the enhancements in hydrological models are mainly due to their ability in reducing the uncertainties and filling the gaps owing to have more flexibility with real watershed system. The study suggests that the development and assessment of SWAT model is required for observation of current enhancement’s result for future practical modeling in watershed systems SWAT is considered as one of the most promising hydrological model in the context of global change, and therefore, it can be expected the review presented in this study will help hydrologists to understand the possible scopes to enhance their modeling performance for better simulation of catchment properties in the context of changing environment.

Hydrological Modeling, Distributed Model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool, Climate Forecast System Reanalysis.