Lessons from Macroscale Hydrologic Modeling: Experience with the Hydrologic Model SLURP in the Mackenzie Basin

Macroscale models are used increasingly in hydrology to simulate regional responses to external forcing, to evaluate large basin management strategies, and to extend hydrologic data sets. The hydrologic model SLURP (Semidistributed Land Use-based Runoff Processes) is a semi-distributed model that has been successfully applied to basins of various sizes, notably those in cold regions. The SLURP manual provides explanations of computational algorithms, sets of commonly applicable parameter values, and computational steps required to run the model. Although the manual offers much information, users can benefit from additional information on certain procedures in order to operate the model successfully. In this chapter we share our experiences in operating this model, including the preparation of input data, initialization of variables, optimization of parameters, and validation of model results. We suggest that the lessons learned from the use of SLURP can be applied to other macroscale hydrologic models.