Comparison of routing algorithms for digital elevation models and their implications for predicting ephemeral gullies

Abstract

Six routing algorithms, describing how flow (and water borne material) will be routed over Digital Elevation Models, are described and compared. The performance of these algorithms is determined based on both the calculation of the contributing area and the prediction of ephemeral gullies. Three groups of routing algorithms could be identified. Both from a statistical and a spatial viewpoint these groups produce significantly different results, with a major distinction between single flow and multiple flow algorithms. Single flow algorithms cannot accommodate divergent flow and are very sensitive to small errors. Therefore, they are not acceptable for hillslopes. The flux decomposition algorithm, proposed here, seems to be preferable to other multiple flow algorithms as it is mathematically straightforward, needs only up to two neighbours and yields more realistic results for drainage lines. The implications of the routing algorithms on the prediction of ephemeral gullies seem to be somewhat counterintuitive: the single flow algorithms that, at first sight, seem to mimic the process of overland flow, do not yield optimal prediction results.