This paper presents an object-oriented two-dimensional (2-D) overland flow model and its application in simulating flood flows over Ulus basin, located in the north of Turkey adjacent to the Black Sea. A new coding implementation according to the class environment created in object oriented C++ programming language is carried out in structuring and building the solver. The model is based on the Godunov type finite volume scheme on unstructured triangular meshes. A mass balance preserving wet/dry boundary solution algorithm is integrated in the numerical scheme to satisfy the positive-depth condition and minimize the numerical instability when treating the propagation of wave front in regions of dry bed. The balance between bed slope and flux terms is also preserved for still water conditions on irregular topography. The 2-D solver is verified by simulating selected dam break cases, where good agreement with measured data is achieved. For the simulation of flood flows in the Ulus basin, in general, the simulated outflow hydrograph is found to compare well with the recorded data. A selected inundation map that is extracted from the model results is also presented to show the water surface level in the Floodplain.
The need for a better understanding of factors controlling the variability of soil water content (θ) in space and time to adequately predict the movement of water in the soil and in the interphase soil-atmosphere is widely recognised. In this paper, we analyse how soil properties, surface cover and topography influence soil moisture (θ) over karstic lithology in a sub-humid Mediterranean mountain environment. For this analysis we have used 17 months of θ measurements with a high temporal resolution from different positions on a hillslope at the main recharge area of the Campo de Dalías aquifer, in Sierra de Gádor (Almería, SE Spain). Soil properties and surface cover vary depending on the position at the hillslope, and this variability has an important effect on θ. The higher clay content towards the lower position of the hillslope explains the increase of θ downslope at the subsurface horizon throughout the entire period studied. In the surface horizon (0-0.1 m), θ patterns coincide with those found at the subsurface horizon (0.1-0.35 m) during dry periods when the main control is also exerted by the higher percentage of clay that increases downslope and limits water depletion through evaporation. However, in wet periods, the wettest regime is found in the surface horizon at the upper position of the hillslope where plant cover, soil organic matter content, available water, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (Kunsat) and infiltration rates are higher than in the lower positions. The presence of rock outcrops upslope the θ sampling area, acts as runoff sources, and subsurface flow generation between surface and subsurface horizons also may increase the differences between the upper and the lower positions of the hillslope during wet periods. Both rock and soil cracks and fissures act disconnecting surface water fluxes and reducing run-on to the lower position of the hillslope and thus they affect θ pattern as well as groundwater recharge. Understanding how terrain attributes, ground cover and soil factors interact for controlling θ pattern on karst hillslope is crucial to understand water fluxes in the vadose zone and dominant percolation mechanisms which also contribute to estimate groundwater recharge rates. Therefore, understanding of soil moisture dynamics provides very valuable information for designing rational strategies for the use and management of water resources, which is especially urgent in regions where groundwater supports human consume or key economic activities.