scholarly journals Examining differences in streamflow estimation for gauged and ungauged catchments using evolutionary data assimilation

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 392-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gift Dumedah ◽  
Paulin Coulibaly

Data assimilation has allowed hydrologists to account for imperfections in observations and uncertainties in model estimates. Typically, updated members are determined as a compromised merger between observations and model predictions. The merging procedure is conducted in decision space before model parameters are updated to reflect the assimilation. However, given the dynamics between states and model parameters, there is limited guarantee that when updated parameters are applied into measurement models, the resulting estimate will be the same as the updated estimate. To account for these challenges, this study uses evolutionary data assimilation (EDA) to estimate streamflow in gauged and ungauged watersheds. EDA assimilates daily streamflow into a Sacramento soil moisture accounting model to determine updated members for eight watersheds in southern Ontario, Canada. The updated members are combined to estimate streamflow in ungauged watersheds where the results show high estimation accuracy for gauged and ungauged watersheds. An evaluation of the commonalities in model parameter values across and between gauged and ungauged watersheds underscore the critical contributions of consistent model parameter values. The findings show a high degree of commonality in model parameter values such that members of a given gauged/ungauged watershed can be estimated using members from another watershed.

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 359-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gift Dumedah ◽  
Jeffrey P. Walker

Abstract Data assimilation (DA) methods are commonly used for finding a compromise between imperfect observations and uncertain model predictions. The estimation of model states and parameters has been widely recognized, but the convergence of estimated parameters has not been thoroughly investigated. The distribution of model state and parameter values is closely linked to convergence, which in turn impacts the ultimate estimation accuracy of DA methods. This demonstration study examines the robustness and convergence of model parameters for the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) and the evolutionary data assimilation (EDA) in the context of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) soil moisture assimilation into the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator in the Yanco area in southeast Australia. The results show high soil moisture estimation accuracy for the EnKF and EDA methods when compared with the open loop estimates during evaluation and validation stages. The level of convergence was quantified for each model parameter in the EDA approach to illustrate its potential in the retrieval of variables that were not directly observed. The EDA was found to have a higher estimation accuracy than the EnKF when its updated members were evaluated against the SMOS level 2 soil moisture. However, the EnKF and EDA estimations are comparable when their forward soil moisture estimates were validated against SMOS soil moisture outside the assimilation time period. This suggests that parameter convergence does not significantly influence soil moisture estimation accuracy for the EnKF. However, the EDA has the advantage of simultaneously determining the convergence of model parameters while providing comparably higher accuracy for soil moisture estimates.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2393-2413 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sellami ◽  
I. La Jeunesse ◽  
S. Benabdallah ◽  
N. Baghdadi ◽  
M. Vanclooster

Abstract. In this study a method for propagating the hydrological model uncertainty in discharge predictions of ungauged Mediterranean catchments using a model parameter regionalization approach is presented. The method is developed and tested for the Thau catchment located in Southern France using the SWAT hydrological model. Regionalization of model parameters, based on physical similarity measured between gauged and ungauged catchment attributes, is a popular methodology for discharge prediction in ungauged basins, but it is often confronted with an arbitrary criterion for selecting the "behavioral" model parameter sets (Mps) at the gauged catchment. A more objective method is provided in this paper where the transferrable Mps are selected based on the similarity between the donor and the receptor catchments. In addition, the method allows propagating the modeling uncertainty while transferring the Mps to the ungauged catchments. Results indicate that physically similar catchments located within the same geographic and climatic region may exhibit similar hydrological behavior and can also be affected by similar model prediction uncertainty. Furthermore, the results suggest that model prediction uncertainty at the ungauged catchment increases as the dissimilarity between the donor and the receptor catchments increases. The methodology presented in this paper can be replicated and used in regionalization of any hydrological model parameters for estimating streamflow at ungauged catchment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 186-194
Author(s):  
M. Heřmanovský ◽  
P. Pech

This paper demonstrates an application of the previously published method for selection of optimal catchment descriptors, according to which similar catchments can be identified for the purpose of estimation of the Sacramento – Soil Moisture Accounting (SAC-SMA) model parameters for a set of tested catchments, based on the physical similarity approach. For the purpose of the analysis, the following data from the Model Parameter Estimation Experiment (MOPEX) project were taken: a priori model parameter sets used as reference values for comparison with the newly estimated parameters, and catchment descriptors of four categories (climatic descriptors, soil properties, land cover and catchment morphology). The inverse clustering method, with Andrews’ curves for a homogeneity check, was used for the catchment grouping process. The optimal catchment descriptors were selected on the basis of two criteria, one comparing different subsets of catchment descriptors of the same size (MIN), the other one evaluating the improvement after addition of another catchment descriptor (MAX). The results suggest that the proposed method and the two criteria used may lead to the selection of a subset of conditionally optimal catchment descriptors from a broader set of them. As expected, the quality of the resulting subset of optimal catchment descriptors is mainly dependent on the number and type of the descriptors in the broader set. In the presented case study, six to seven catchment descriptors (two climatic, two soil and at least two land-cover descriptors) were identified as optimal for regionalisation of the SAC-SMA model parameters for a set of MOPEX catchments.


2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 1480-1498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew H. MacDougall ◽  
Gwenn E. Flowers

Abstract Modeling melt from glaciers is crucial to assessing regional hydrology and eustatic sea level rise. The transferability of such models in space and time has been widely assumed but rarely tested. To investigate melt model transferability, a distributed energy-balance melt model (DEBM) is applied to two small glaciers of opposing aspects that are 10 km apart in the Donjek Range of the St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada. An analysis is conducted in four stages to assess the transferability of the DEBM in space and time: 1) locally derived model parameter values and meteorological forcing variables are used to assess model skill; 2) model parameter values are transferred between glacier sites and between years of study; 3) measured meteorological forcing variables are transferred between glaciers using locally derived parameter values; 4) both model parameter values and measured meteorological forcing variables are transferred from one glacier site to the other, treating the second glacier site as an extension of the first. The model parameters are transferable in time to within a <10% uncertainty in the calculated surface ablation over most or all of a melt season. Transferring model parameters or meteorological forcing variables in space creates large errors in modeled ablation. If select quantities (ice albedo, initial snow depth, and summer snowfall) are retained at their locally measured values, model transferability can be improved to achieve ≤15% uncertainty in the calculated surface ablation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 551-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Patil ◽  
M. Stieglitz

Abstract. Prediction of streamflow at ungauged catchments requires transfer of hydrologic information (e.g., model parameters, hydrologic indices, streamflow values) from gauged (donor) to ungauged (receiver) catchments. A common metric used for the selection of ideal donor catchments is the spatial proximity between donor and receiver catchments. However, it is not clear whether information transfer among nearby catchments is suitable across a wide range of climatic and geographic regions. We examine this issue using the data from 756 catchments within the continental United States. Each catchment is considered ungauged in turn and daily streamflow is simulated through distance-based interpolation of streamflows from neighboring catchments. Results show that distinct geographic regions exist in US where transfer of streamflow values from nearby catchments is useful for retrospective prediction of daily streamflow at ungauged catchments. Specifically, the high predictability catchments (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency NS > 0.7) are confined to the Appalachian Mountains in eastern US, the Rocky Mountains, and the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. Low predictability catchments (NS < 0.3) are located mostly in the drier regions west of Mississippi river, which demonstrates the limited utility of gauged catchments in those regions for predicting at ungauged basins. The results suggest that high streamflow similarity among nearby catchments (and therefore, good predictability at ungauged catchments) is more likely in humid runoff-dominated regions than in dry evapotranspiration-dominated regions. We further find that higher density and/or closer distance of gauged catchments near an ungauged catchment does not necessarily guarantee good predictability at an ungauged catchment.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 9323-9355 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Patil ◽  
M. Stieglitz

Abstract. Prediction of streamflows at ungauged catchments requires transfer of hydrologic information (e.g., model parameters, hydrologic indices, streamflow values) from gauged (donor) to ungauged (receiver) catchments. One of the most reliable metrics for selection of ideal donor catchments is the spatial proximity between donor and receiver catchments. However, it is not clear whether information transfer among nearby catchments is suitable across a wide range of climatic and geographic regions. We examine this issue using the data from 756 catchments within the continental United States. Each catchment is considered ungauged in turn and daily streamflow is simulated through distance-based interpolation of streamflows from neighboring catchments. Results show that distinct geographic regions exist in US where transfer of streamflow values from nearby catchments is useful for retrospective prediction of daily streamflow at ungauged catchments. Specifically, the high predictability catchments (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency NS > 0.7) are confined to the Appalachian Mountains in eastern US, the Rocky Mountains, and the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. Low predictability catchments (NS < 0.3) are located mostly in the drier regions west of Mississippi river, which demonstrates the limited utility of gauged catchments in those regions for predicting at ungauged basins. The results suggest that high streamflow similarity among nearby catchments (and therefore, good predictability at ungauged catchments) is more likely in humid runoff-dominated regions than in dry evapotranspiration-dominated regions. We further find that higher density and/or closer distance of gauged catchments near an ungauged catchment does not necessarily guarantee good predictability at an ungauged catchment.


Total hip metal arthroplasty (THA) model-parameters for a group of commonly used ones is optimized and numerically studied. Based on previous ceramic THA optimization software contributions, an improved multiobjective programming method/algorithm is implemented in wear modeling for THA. This computational nonlinear multifunctional optimization is performed with a number of THA metals with different hardnesses and erosion in vitro experimental rates. The new software was created/designed with two types of Sytems, Matlab and GNU Octave. Numerical results show be improved/acceptable for in vitro simulations. These findings are verified with 2D Graphical Optimization and 3D Interior Optimization methods, giving low residual-norms. The solutions for the model match mostly the literature in vitro standards for experimental simulations. Numerical figures for multifunctional optimization give acceptable model-parameter values with low residual-norms. Useful mathematical consequences/calculations are obtained for wear predictions, model advancements and simulation methodology. The wear magnitude for in vitro determinations with these model parameter data constitutes the advance of the method. In consequence, the erosion prediction for laboratory experimental testing in THA add up to the literature an efficacious usage-improvement. Results, additionally, are extrapolated to efficient Medical Physics applications and metal-THA Bioengineering designs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 5217-5238
Author(s):  
Xin Huang ◽  
Dan Lu ◽  
Daniel M. Ricciuto ◽  
Paul J. Hanson ◽  
Andrew D. Richardson ◽  
...  

Abstract. Models are an important tool to predict Earth system dynamics. An accurate prediction of future states of ecosystems depends on not only model structures but also parameterizations. Model parameters can be constrained by data assimilation. However, applications of data assimilation to ecology are restricted by highly technical requirements such as model-dependent coding. To alleviate this technical burden, we developed a model-independent data assimilation (MIDA) module. MIDA works in three steps including data preparation, execution of data assimilation, and visualization. The first step prepares prior ranges of parameter values, a defined number of iterations, and directory paths to access files of observations and models. The execution step calibrates parameter values to best fit the observations and estimates the parameter posterior distributions. The final step automatically visualizes the calibration performance and posterior distributions. MIDA is model independent, and modelers can use MIDA for an accurate and efficient data assimilation in a simple and interactive way without modification of their original models. We applied MIDA to four types of ecological models: the data assimilation linked ecosystem carbon (DALEC) model, a surrogate-based energy exascale earth system model: the land component (ELM), nine phenological models and a stand-alone biome ecological strategy simulator (BiomeE). The applications indicate that MIDA can effectively solve data assimilation problems for different ecological models. Additionally, the easy implementation and model-independent feature of MIDA breaks the technical barrier of applications of data–model fusion in ecology. MIDA facilitates the assimilation of various observations into models for uncertainty reduction in ecological modeling and forecasting.


Author(s):  
Matthew J. Hoffman ◽  
Elizabeth M. Cherry

Modelling of cardiac electrical behaviour has led to important mechanistic insights, but important challenges, including uncertainty in model formulations and parameter values, make it difficult to obtain quantitatively accurate results. An alternative approach is combining models with observations from experiments to produce a data-informed reconstruction of system states over time. Here, we extend our earlier data-assimilation studies using an ensemble Kalman filter to reconstruct a three-dimensional time series of states with complex spatio-temporal dynamics using only surface observations of voltage. We consider the effects of several algorithmic and model parameters on the accuracy of reconstructions of known scroll-wave truth states using synthetic observations. In particular, we study the algorithm’s sensitivity to parameters governing different parts of the process and its robustness to several model-error conditions. We find that the algorithm can achieve an acceptable level of error in many cases, with the weakest performance occurring for model-error cases and more extreme parameter regimes with more complex dynamics. Analysis of the poorest-performing cases indicates an initial decrease in error followed by an increase when the ensemble spread is reduced. Our results suggest avenues for further improvement through increasing ensemble spread by incorporating additive inflation or using a parameter or multi-model ensemble. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Uncertainty quantification in cardiac and cardiovascular modelling and simulation’.


1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Martin ◽  
Douglas L. Milliken ◽  
John E. Cobb ◽  
Kevin L. McFadden ◽  
Andrew R. Coggan

This investigation sought to determine if cycling power could be accurately modeled. A mathematical model of cycling power was derived, and values for each model parameter were determined. A bicycle-mounted power measurement system was validated by comparison with a laboratory ergometer. Power was measured during road cycling, and the measured values were compared with the values predicted by the model. The measured values for power were highly correlated (R2= .97) with, and were not different than, the modeled values. The standard error between the modeled and measured power (2.7 W) was very small. The model was also used to estimate the effects of changes in several model parameters on cycling velocity. Over the range of parameter values evaluated, velocity varied linearly (R2> .99). The results demonstrated that cycling power can be accurately predicted by a mathematical model.


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