scholarly journals Uncertainty analysis in model parameters regionalization: a case study involving the SWAT model in Mediterranean catchments (Southern France)

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 4951-5011 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sellami ◽  
I. La Jeunesse ◽  
S. Benabdallah ◽  
N. Baghdadi ◽  
M. Vanclooster
Keyword(s):  
Model Prediction ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Swat Model ◽  
Behavioral Model ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Southern France ◽  
Ungauged Catchment ◽  
Prediction Uncertainty

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 catchments 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 parameters 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.

scholarly journals Uncertainty analysis in model parameters regionalization: a case study involving the SWAT model in Mediterranean catchments (Southern France)

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2393-2413 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sellami ◽  
I. La Jeunesse ◽  
S. Benabdallah ◽  
N. Baghdadi ◽  
M. Vanclooster
Keyword(s):  
Model Prediction ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Swat Model ◽  
Behavioral Model ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Southern France ◽  
Model Parameter ◽  
Ungauged Catchment ◽  
Prediction Uncertainty

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.

Model adequacy tests for improving predictions in ungauged basins

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Prieto ◽  
Nataliya Le Vine ◽  
Dmitri Kavetski ◽  
César Álvarez ◽  
Raúl Medina
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Flow Time ◽  
Flow Index ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ungauged Basins ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Subsequent Work ◽  
Study Results

<p>Flow prediction in ungauged catchments is a major unresolved challenge in scientific and engineering hydrology. Meeting this challenge is made difficult by the uncertainty in the “regionalization” model used to transpose hydrological data (e.g., flow indices) from gauged to ungauged basins, and by the uncertainty in the hydrological model used to predict streamflow in the ungauged basin. This study combines recent advances in flow index selection, regionalization via machine learning methods, and a Bayesian inference framework. In addition, it proposes two new statistical metrics, “DistanceTest” and “InfoTest”, to assess the adequacy of a model before estimating its parameters. “DistanceTest” quantifies whether a model (hydrological or regionalization) is likely to reproduce the available hydrological information in a catchment. “InfoTest” is based on Bayes Factors and quantifies the information added by a model (hydrological or regionalization) over prior knowledge about the available hydrological information in a catchment). The proposed adequacy tests can be seen as a prerequisite for a model (hydrological or regionalization) being considered capable of providing meaningful and high quality flow time series predictions in ungauged catchments. If a model is found inadequate a priori and rejected, the modeler is spared the effort in estimating the model parameters, which can be a substantial saving.</p><p>The proposed regionalization approach is applied to 92 northern Spain catchments, with 16 catchments treated as ungauged. It is found that (1) a small number of PCs capture approximately 87% of variability in the flow indices, and (2) adequacy tests with respect to regionalized information are indicative of (but do not guarantee) the ability of a hydrological model to predict flow time series. The adequacy tests identify the regionalization of flow index PCs as adequate in 12 of 16 catchments but the hydrological model as adequate in only 1 of 16 catchments. In addition, the case study results suggest that the hydrological model is the main source of uncertainty in comparison to the regionalization model, and hence should receive the main priority in subsequent work at the case study catchments.</p>

scholarly journals On the selection of precipitation products for the regionalisation of hydrological model parameters

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 5805-5837
Author(s):  
Oscar M. Baez-Villanueva ◽  
Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini ◽  
Pablo A. Mendoza ◽  
Ian McNamara ◽  
Hylke E. Beck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Hydrological Regime ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Feature Similarity

Abstract. Over the past decades, novel parameter regionalisation techniques have been developed to predict streamflow in data-scarce regions. In this paper, we examined how the choice of gridded daily precipitation (P) products affects the relative performance of three well-known parameter regionalisation techniques (spatial proximity, feature similarity, and parameter regression) over 100 near-natural catchments with diverse hydrological regimes across Chile. We set up and calibrated a conceptual semi-distributed HBV-like hydrological model (TUWmodel) for each catchment, using four P products (CR2MET, RF-MEP, ERA5, and MSWEPv2.8). We assessed the ability of these regionalisation techniques to transfer the parameters of a rainfall-runoff model, implementing a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure for each P product. Despite differences in the spatio-temporal distribution of P, all products provided good performance during calibration (median Kling–Gupta efficiencies (KGE′s) > 0.77), two independent verification periods (median KGE′s >0.70 and 0.61, for near-normal and dry conditions, respectively), and regionalisation (median KGE′s for the best method ranging from 0.56 to 0.63). We show how model calibration is able to compensate, to some extent, differences between P forcings by adjusting model parameters and thus the water balance components. Overall, feature similarity provided the best results, followed by spatial proximity, while parameter regression resulted in the worst performance, reinforcing the importance of transferring complete model parameter sets to ungauged catchments. Our results suggest that (i) merging P products and ground-based measurements does not necessarily translate into an improved hydrologic model performance; (ii) the spatial resolution of P products does not substantially affect the regionalisation performance; (iii) a P product that provides the best individual model performance during calibration and verification does not necessarily yield the best performance in terms of parameter regionalisation; and (iv) the model parameters and the performance of regionalisation methods are affected by the hydrological regime, with the best results for spatial proximity and feature similarity obtained for rain-dominated catchments with a minor snowmelt component.

scholarly journals Calibration of physically based models: back to basics?

2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Guinot ◽  
Philippe Gourbesville
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Model Structure ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Model Response ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
Physically Based Models ◽  
Extreme Hydrological Events ◽  
Main Factor

The modelling of extreme hydrological events often suffers from a lack of available data. Physically based models are the best available modelling option in such situations, as they can in principle provide answers about the behaviour of ungauged catchments provided that the geometry and the forcings are known with sufficient accuracy. The need for calibration is therefore limited. In some situations, calibration (seen as adjusting the model parameters so that they fit the calculation as closely to the measurements as possible) is impossible. This paper presents such a situation. The MIKE SHE physically based hydrological model is used to model a flash flood over a medium-sized catchment of the Mediterranean Alps (2820 km2). An examination of a number of modelling alternatives shows that the main factor of uncertainty in the model response is the model structure (what are the dominant processes). The second most important factor is the accuracy with which the catchment geometry is represented in the model. The model results exhibit very little sensitivity to the model parameters, and therefore calibration of these parameters is found to be useless.

scholarly journals Analysis of the spatial variation in the parameters of the SWAT model with application in Flanders, Northern Belgium

2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 931-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Heuvelmans ◽  
B. Muys ◽  
J. Feyen
Keyword(s):  
Stream Flow ◽  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Swat Model ◽  
Single Parameter ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Parameter Values ◽  
Parameter Approach

Abstract. Operational applications of a hydrological model often require the prediction of stream flow in (future) time periods without stream flow observations or in ungauged catchments. Data for a case-specific optimisation of model parameters are not available for such applications, so parameters have to be derived from other catchments or time periods. It has been demonstrated that for applications of the SWAT in Northern Belgium, temporal transfers of the parameters have less influence than spatial transfers on the performance of the model. This study examines the spatial variation in parameter optima in more detail. The aim was to delineate zones wherein model parameters can be transferred without a significant loss of model performance. SWAT was calibrated for 25 catchments that are part of eight larger sub-basins of the Scheldt river basin. Two approaches are discussed for grouping these units in zones with a uniform set of parameters: a single parameter approach considering each parameter separately and a parameter set approach evaluating the parameterisation as a whole. For every catchment, the SWAT model was run with the local parameter optima, with the average parameter values for the entire study region (Flanders), with the zones delineated with the single parameter approach and with the zones obtained by the parameter set approach. Comparison of the model performances of these four parameterisation strategies indicates that both the single parameter and the parameter set zones lead to stream flow predictions that are more accurate than if the entire study region were treated as one single zone. On the other hand, the use of zonal average parameter values results in a considerably worse model fit compared to local parameter optima. Clustering of parameter sets gives a more accurate result than the single parameter approach and is, therefore, the preferred technique for use in the parameterisation of ungauged sub-catchments as part of the simulation of a large river basin. Keywords: hydrological model, regionalisation, parameterisation, spatial variability

scholarly journals Controls on hydrologic similarity: role of nearby gauged catchments for prediction at an ungauged catchment

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 551-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Patil ◽  
M. Stieglitz
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Ungauged Catchment ◽  
Daily Streamflow ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Geographic Regions

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.

scholarly journals Calibration of hydrological model parameters for ungauged catchments

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 703-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bárdossy
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Model ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Hydrological Models ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Rainfall Runoff Model ◽  
Climate Statistics ◽  
Runoff Model ◽  
German Part

Abstract. The parameters of hydrological models for catchments with few or no discharge records can be estimated using regional information. One can assume that catchments with similar characteristics show a similar hydrological behaviour and thus can be modeled using similar model parameters. Therefore a regionalisation of the hydrological model parameters on the basis of catchment characteristics is plausible. However, due to the non-uniqueness of the rainfall-runoff model parameters (equifinality), a workflow of regional parameter estimation by model calibration and a subsequent fit of a regional function is not appropriate. In this paper a different approach for the transfer of entire parameter sets from one catchment to another is discussed. Parameter sets are considered as tranferable if the corresponding model performance (defined as the Nash-Sutclife efficiency) on the donor catchment is good and the regional statistics: means and variances of annual discharges estimated from catchment properties and annual climate statistics for the recipient catchment are well reproduced by the model. The methodology is applied to a set of 16 catchments in the German part of the Rhine catchments. Results show that the parameters transfered according to the above criteria perform well on the target catchments.

scholarly journals Controls on hydrologic similarity: role of nearby gauged catchments for prediction at an ungauged catchment

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 9323-9355 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Patil ◽  
M. Stieglitz
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Ungauged Catchment ◽  
Daily Streamflow ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Geographic Regions

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.

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