scholarly journals Data-Driven Modeling and the Influence of Objective Function Selection on Model Performance in Limited Data Regions

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 4132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thelma Dede Baddoo ◽  
Zhijia Li ◽  
Yiqing Guan ◽  
Kenneth Rodolphe Chabi Boni ◽  
Isaac Kwesi Nooni
Keyword(s):  
Objective Function ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Basic Model ◽  
Data Limitations ◽  
Unit Hydrographs ◽  
Data Driven Modeling ◽  
Semi Arid

The identification of unit hydrographs and component flows from rainfall, evapotranspiration and streamflow data (IHACRES) model has been proven to be an efficient yet basic model to simulate rainfall–runoff processes due to the difficulty in obtaining the comprehensive data required by physical models, especially in data-scarce, semi-arid regions. The success of a calibration process is tremendously dependent on the objective function chosen. However, objective functions have been applied largely in over daily and monthly scales and seldom over sub-daily scales. This study, therefore, implements the IHACRES model using ‘hydromad’ in R to simulate flood events with data limitations in Zhidan, a semi-arid catchment in China. We apply objective function constraints by time aggregating the commonly used Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency into daily and hourly scales to investigate the influence of objective function constraints on the model performance and the general capability of the IHACRES model to simulate flood events in the study watershed. The results of the study demonstrated the advantage of the finer time-scaled hourly objective function over its daily counterpart in simulating runoff for the selected flood events. The results also indicated that the IHACRES model performed extremely well in the Zhidan watershed, presenting the feasibility of the use of the IHACRES model to simulate flood events in data scarce, semi-arid regions.

Evaluation of NOAA National Water Model Parameter Calibration in Semi-Arid Environments Prone to Channel Infiltration

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy M. Lahmers ◽  
Pieter Hazenberg ◽  
Hoshin Gupta ◽  
Christopher Castro ◽  
David Gochis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Objective Function ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Water Model ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Calibration Scheme ◽  
Sink Term ◽  
Calibration Methods ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
National Water

AbstractThe NOAA National Water Model (NWM), maintained and executed by the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Water Prediction, provides operational hydrological guidance throughout the Contiguous United States. Based on the WRF-Hydro model architecture developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the NWM was recently modified for semi-arid domains, by permitting it to explicitly resolve infiltration from ephemeral channels into the underlying channel bed as an added model sink term. To analyze the added value of channel infiltration in semi-arid environments, we calibrated NWM v2.1 (with the channel infiltration function) to 56 independent basins in the western CONUS, following identical calibration methods as the pre-operational NWM v2.1 (not including channel infiltration). Calibration of the model consists of two parts, including 1) calibration of channel infiltration only with other parameters set to the calibrated parameters used for pre-operational NWM v2.1 and 2) calibration of all parameters including channel infiltration with settings otherwise equivalent to the calibration of NWM v2.1. The calibrated channel-infiltration enhanced NWM improves predictive skill compared to the control NWM in 85% of evaluated basins, for the calibration period. The current NWM settings for physical processes and the biases of the calibration scheme limit model performance in semi-arid environments. To explore whether channel infiltration paired with an alternative calibration scheme could address these limitations, NWM v2.1 was calibrated with a new objective function in selected basins. We found that this updated objective function could ameliorate model biases in some semi-arid environments.

BIODIVERSITY OF HALOPHYTES IN SEMI-ARID REGIONS CASE OF ZAHREZ GHARBI AND ZAHREZ CHERGUI (ZAAFRANE-DJELFA) IN ALGERIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Senni Rachida ◽  
De Belair Gerard ◽  
Abdelkrim Hacene
Keyword(s):  
Arid Regions ◽  
Semi Arid

Water Resources Management in the Semi-Arid Central Valley of California

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 97-106
Author(s):  
J. J. Vasconcelos
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Ground Water ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Central Valley ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Ground Water Resource ◽  
Semi Arid

Hater resource managers in semi-arid regions are faced with some unique problems. The wide variations in precipitation and stream flows in semi-arid regions increase man's dependence on the ground water resource for an ample and reliable supply of water. Proper management of the ground water resource is absolutely essential to the economic well being of semi-arid regions. Historians have discovered the remains of vanished advanced civilizations based on irrigated agriculture which were ignorant of the importance of proper ground water resource management. In the United States a great deal of effort is presently being expended in the study and control of toxic discharges to the ground water resource. What many public policy makers fail to understand is that the potential loss to society resulting from the mineralization of the ground water resource is potentially much greater than the loss caused by toxic wastes discharges, particularly in developing countries. Appropriations for ground water resource management studies in developed countries such as the United States are presently much less than those for toxic wastes management and should be increased. It is the reponsibility of the water resource professional to emphasize to public policy makers the importance of ground water resource management. Applications of ground water resource management models in the semi-arid Central Valley of California are presented. The results demonstrate the need for proper ground water resource management practices in semi-arid regions and the use of ground water management models as a valuable tool for the water resource manager.

scholarly journals Mulching as water-saving technique in dryland agriculture: review article

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Abdul Kader ◽  
Ashutus Singha ◽  
Mili Amena Begum ◽  
Arif Jewel ◽  
Ferdous Hossain Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arid Regions ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Plastic Mulch ◽  
Dryland Agriculture ◽  
Crop Cultivation ◽  
Agricultural Water Resources ◽  
Semi Arid

Abstract Agricultural water resources have been limited over the years due to global warming and irregular rainfall in the arid and semi-arid regions. To mitigate the water stress in agriculture, mulching has a crucial impact as a water-saving technique in rain-fed crop cultivation. It is important mainly for preserving soil moisture, relegating soil temperature, and limiting soil evaporation, which affects the crop yield. Mulching has many strategic effects on soil ecosystem, crop growth, and climate. Mulch insulates the soil, helping to provide a buffer from cold and hot temperatures that have a crucial activity in creating beautiful and protected landscapes. This study has accumulated a series of information about both organic and plastic mulch materials and its applicability on crop cultivation. Moreover, future research potentials of mulching with modeling were discussed to quantify water loss in agriculture.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document