1. General Model Information
Name: BASINS
Acronym: BASINS
Main medium: aquatic, terrestrial
Main subject: biogeochemistry, hydrology
Organization level: Landscape
Type of model: 2D
Main application:
Keywords: water quality, pollution,GIS,integrated modelling tools, database
Contact:
Author(s):
Abstract:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's water
programs and their counterparts in states and pollution
control agencies are increasingly emphasizing
watershed- and water-quality-based assessment and
integrated analysis of point and nonpoint sources.Better
Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint
Sources (BASINS) is a system developed to meet the
needs of such agencies. It integrates a geographic
information system (GIS), national watershed data, and
state-of-the-art environmental assessment and
modeling tools into one convenient package.
BASINS addresses three objectives:
- To facilitate examination of environmental information
- To provide an integrated watershed and modeling framework, and
- To support analysis of point and nonpoint source management alternatives.
It also supports the development of total maximum daily
loads (TMDLs), which require a watershed-based
approach that integrates both point and nonpoint sources.
BASINS can support this type of approach for the
analysis of a variety of pollutants. It can also support
analysis at a variety of scales, using tools that range from
simple to sophisticated.
Overcoming the lack of integration, limited coordination,
and time-intensive execution typical of more traditional
assessment tools, BASINS makes watershed and water
quality studies easier by bringing key data and analytical
components together "under one roof."
Originally released in September, 1996 (BASINS 1.0), the
heart of BASINS is its suite of interrelated components
essential for performing watershed and water quality
analysis. These components are grouped into four
categories:
- National databases with local data import tools;
- Assessment tools (TARGET, ASSESS, and Data Mining) that address needs ranging from large-scale to small-scale;
- Watershed and water quality models including
NPSM (HSPF),
TOXIROUTE,
and QUAL2E; and
- Post-processing output tools.
II. Technical Information
II.1 Executables:
Operating System(s):
| | BASINS 1.0 | BASINS 2.0 |
| Computer | 486-66 w/ CD-ROM | Pentium w/ CD-ROM |
| RAM | 16 MB | 32 MB |
| Free disk space | 200 MB for an average State | 400 MB for an average State |
| Operating System | Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 | Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 |
| GIS Software | ArcView 2.1 | ArcView 3.0a |
see section V.
II.2 Source-code:
Programming Language(s):
II.3 Manuals:
see section V:
II.4 Data:
III. Mathematical Information
III.1 Mathematics
III.2 Quantities
III.2.1 Input
III.2.2 Output
IV. References
V. Further information in the World-Wide-Web
BASINS2 Home Page at the EPA
VI. Additional remarks
Last review of this document by:
Status of the document:
last modified by
Tobias Gabele Wed Aug 21 21:44:39 CEST 2002