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Global and Planetary Change 38 (2003) 191–208 /locate/gloplacha The versatile integrator of surface atmospheric processes Part 2: evaluation of three topography-based runoff schemes Guo-Yue Niu, Zong-Liang Yang * Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1101, USA Received 30 November 2001; received in revised form 4 February 2002; accepted 31 May 2002 Abstract Three different schemes of topography-based runoff production [versatile integrator of surface atmospheric processes (VISA)-TOP1, VISA-TOP2, and VISA-TOP3] are described for a land-surface model (LSM) developed for use with a general circulation model (GCM). The schemes’ sensitivities to some key parameters are assessed for two catchments using data sets developed for the Project for Intercomparison of Land-Surface Parameterization Schemes (PILPS) Phase 2e. VISA-TOP1 differs from VISA-TOP2 only in how to treat oversaturated soil water from the soil layers. In VISA-TOP1, the oversaturated soil water is thrown out of the soil column; hence, it no longer plays a role in the ensuing soil water budgets. In VISA-TOP2, this oversaturated soil water is recharged back to the unsaturated soil layers above the water table; hence, it continues to involve in the water budgets. Unlike VISA-TOP1 and VISA-TOP2, VISA-TOP3 relaxes its dependence on the topographic parameters. The oversaturated soil water is treated the same in both VISA-TOP2 and VISA-TOP3. All three models reproduce the daily and seasonal cycles of streamflow provided that different values of the saturated hydraulic conductivity decay factor are used. The decay factor controls the timing and partitioning of subsurface