An R implementation of the Hysteretic and Gatekeeping Depressions Model (HGDM)
HGDM is a model of the variable connected/contributing fractions of basins in the Canadian Prairies. The hydrology of this region is dominated by the presence of millions of depressions (“sloughs” or “potholes”). As water is added to a basin containing numerous small depressions, the connected/contributing fraction increases. When water is removed from the depressions through evaporation or infiltration, the connected fraction is zero, so the behaviour of the small depressions is hysteretic with respect to the storage of water.
Large depressions (having an area greater than approximately 5% of the total depressional area) exhibit “gatekeeping”, whereby they prevent upstream flows from exiting the basin until the large depression is filled.
The HGDMr function HGDM models both
behaviours far more efficiently than previously developed models. It
computes the constantly changing depressional storage and the net
discharge flux. Note that the function does not do any form of
routing.
HGDMr works very well with fluxes computed for Canadian Prairie basins in PHyDAP - Prairie Hydrology Design and Analysis Product (https://doi.org/10.20383/102.0694).
For more information about HGDM see Shook and Pomeroy (2025):
Shook, Kevin R., and John W. Pomeroy. “The Hysteretic and Gatekeeping Depressions Model - A New Model for Variable Connected Fractions of Prairie Basins.” Journal of Hydrology 654 (June 1, 2025): 132821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.132821.