Model application data for co-developed surface watershed and groundwater hydrologic models for the Upper Colorado River Basin

Co-developed surface and subsurface hydrologic models for the Upper Colorado River Basin and the Colorado Plateaus principal aquifer system were used to investigate the drivers of change in hydrologic water budget components during contrasting recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) time periods in select headwater subregions of the Upper Colorado River Basin. The hydrologic system was simulated with separate model codes to represent watershed and groundwater hydrology. A PRMS model was used to simulate surface and near-surface watershed hydrology of the model area from the plant canopy to the lower limit of the soil zone. A MODFLOW-NWT model was used to simulate streamflow, surface-water/groundwater interactions, and three-dimensional saturated groundwater hydrology. Outputs of recharge, surface runoff, and interflow from the PRMS model were used as inputs to the MODFLOW-NWT model. This data release contains the model input and output files for each of the models for the simulations described in Tillman and others, 2025 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102554). This page includes the file 'modelgeoref.txt' that describes the projection, datum, and coordinates of the four corners of the model grid (common to both models) in decimal degrees. The two child items,' Upper Colorado River Basin MODFLOW-NWT Model Application Data', and 'Upper Colorado River Basin Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) Model Application Data' contain the input and output files for each model, descriptions of the model files, and instructions for running the models.