UTILIZING LANDSAT DIGITAL DATA FOR OPERATING 
TWO HYDROLOGIC MODELS 
Helmut Moyseenko 
Melih Yaramanoglu 
Lalit Wanchoo 
Department of Agricultural Engineering 
University of Maryland 
College Park, MD 20742 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
Helmut Moyseenko is a Graduate Research Assistant and doctoral student at the 
Agricultural Engineering Department of the University of Maryland where he also 
received a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering. .His professional 
interest is in computer-based hydrologic mathematical modeling. The author is a 
professional architect. 
Melih Yaramanoglu is an Assistant Professor at the Agricultural Engineering 
Department of the University of Maryland where he also received his Ph.D. 
degree. Dr. Yaramanoglu obtained his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science 
degrees in Civil Engineering from Middle East Technical University in Turkey. His 
professional interest is in mathematical modeling of watersheds. 
Lalit Wanchoo is an Environmental Engineer with Ecosystems International Inc., 
Gambrills, Maryland. He has a Bachelor of Technology in Agricultural Engineering 
from the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India and Master of Science in 
Agricultural Engineering from the University of Maryland. He is presently 
working on a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Engineering at the University of 
Maryland. His interests are in hydrological modeling and remote sensing 
applications. 
ABSTRACT 
The suitability of using Landsat derived land use distributions in operating two 
hydrologic models is discussed. Subscenes from two Landsat scenes (April 1973 
and August 1978) were classified and the areal percentages of six different land 
uses within the watershed calculated. The Landsat defined land uses included: 
grass or crops, forest, low density housing, bare soils or mining, medium density 
family housing, and highly impervious areas such as plazas and parking lots. These 
land use percentages were directly incorporated to each model's surface cover 
parameter set. The mathematical models used were: the University of Maryland 
version of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Hydrograph Laboratory Model of 
Watershed Hydrology (UOM USDAHL-74), a continuous simulation model, and the 
Distributed Parameter Model (DPM), a storm simulation model. The study area 
was the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River Basin located in Maryland—a 
21.1 square mile subwatershed. The two models very adequately simulated the 
peak discharge from the fourth largest flood recorded since 1933. Monthly runoff 
volumes calculated by USDAHL for the years 1973 through 1977 were generally 
higher than observed monthly runoff volumes for the same period. The correlation 
coefficient between observed and USDAHL calculated monthly runoff volumes 
was 0.85. No attempts were made to calibrate the two models by repetitive runs 
in order to better represent the existing hydrologic system. USDAHL and DPM 
are amenable to at least certain remote sensing inputs such as areal percentages 
of surface cover. The accuracy achieved appears commensurate with results 
normally obtained through conventional techniques for gathering data sets and 
then translating them into parameters for input to the models.