Representing detailed hydrologic processes in complex terrain remains a significant challenge to the modelling community. Problems arise not only in the distribution of relatively low-resolution atmospheric forcings over complex topography but also in representing the complex physical interactions and controlling parameters between the land-surface, soils and groundwater systems. One approach to the latter is to use a suite of coupled physical models representing soil/vegetation/snow processes, surface hydrology and groundwater flow interactively to a given catchment or basin. Sensitivity to atmospheric forcing and scale can also be tested with a modelling approach.

Here, we apply such a coupled modelling system, composed of the NCAR-LSM land-surface parameterisation, the CASC2D surface and stream hydrology model, and USGS MODFLOW groundwater model, to simulate a snow melt period over Wyoming’s Wind River Basin. These “off-line” simulations are preformed over across both large-scale (the Wind River Basin) and smaller-scale (Dry Creek Basin) systems using both regional (the Solar and Meteorological Surface Observation Network Database) and global climate (ISLSCP Initiative 1) products.