Advances in Geosciences www.adv-geosci.net 1680-7340 1680-7359 5 Proceedings of the 8th Workshop for Large Scale Hydrological Modelling - Oppurg 2004 2005 10.5194/adgeo-5-137-2005 http://www.adv-geosci.net/5/137/2005/ http://www.adv-geosci.net/5/137/2005/adgeo-5-137-2005.html http://www.adv-geosci.net/5/137/2005/adgeo-5-137-2005.pdf 137 141 2005-12-16 Application of a virtual watershed in academic education A. L. Horn G. Hörmann N. Fohrer Ecology Centre, Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany Hydrologic models of watersheds often represent complex systems which are difficult to understand regarding to their structure and dynamics. Virtual watersheds, i.e. watersheds which exist only in the virtual reality of a computer system, are an approach to simplify access to this real-world complexity. In this study we present the virtual watershed KIELSHED-1, a 117 km² v-shaped valley with grassland on a "Cambisol" soil type. Two weather scenarios are delivered with the watershed: a simplified artificial weather scenario based on long-term data of a German weather station as well as an unmodified data record. The input data and parameters are compiled according to the conventions of the SWAT 2000 hydrological model. KIELSHED-1 is mainly used for education, and illustrative application examples, i.e. calculation of water balance, model calibration, development of land use scenarios, give an insight to the capabilities of the virtual watershed.