Watershed chemical fate modeling

Parameters for which measured values are not clearly defined or readily available are often determined through calibration with observed data. In watershed chemical fate modeling, calibration has traditionally been associated with hydrologic parameters (e.g., erodibility coefficients, scour and deposition rates) because the required flow and sediment data are often available. Although initial parameter values can always be estimated, calibration is usually recommended to account for local and spatial variations. 

Soil compartment chemical fate modeling has been traditionally performed for three distinct subcompartments the land surface (or watershed) the unsaturated soil (or soil) zone and the saturated (or groundwater) zone of a region. In general, the mathematical simulation is structured around two major cycles the hydrologic cycle and the pollutant cycle, each cycle being associated with a number of physicochemical processes. Watershed models account for a third cycle sedimentation. 

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