Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2427-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2427-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
22 May 2015
Research article |
| 22 May 2015
Assessing the simple dynamical systems approach in a Mediterranean context: application to the Ardèche catchment (France)
M. Adamovic
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Irstea, UR HHLY, Hydrology-Hydraulics Research Unit, Lyon-Villeurbanne, France
CNRS, HydroSciences Laboratory, Place Eugene Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France
Irstea, UR HHLY, Hydrology-Hydraulics Research Unit, Lyon-Villeurbanne, France
F. Branger
Irstea, UR HHLY, Hydrology-Hydraulics Research Unit, Lyon-Villeurbanne, France
J. W. Kirchner
Department of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Related authors
Emiliano Gelati, Zuzanna Zajac, Andrej Ceglar, Simona Bassu, Bernard Bisselink, Marko Adamovic, Jeroen Bernhard, Anna Malagó, Marco Pastori, Fayçal Bouraoui, and Ad de Roo
Adv. Sci. Res., 17, 227–253, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-17-227-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-17-227-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this modelling study, we conclude that groundwater is used unsustainably for irrigation in several areas of the
Euro-Mediterranean region. In the southern Iberian Peninsula, we estimate the potential effects of reducing irrigation groundwater abstractions to sustainable amounts to prevent long-term decline of groundwater storage. These restrictions may cause crop production losses but halt groundwater depletion and increase river flow during dry periods which is beneficial for ecosystems.
Tim Busker, Ad de Roo, Emiliano Gelati, Christian Schwatke, Marko Adamovic, Berny Bisselink, Jean-Francois Pekel, and Andrew Cottam
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 669–690, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-669-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-669-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper estimates lake and reservoir volume variations over all continents from 1984 to 2015 using remote sensing alone. This study improves on previous methodologies by using the Global Surface Water dataset developed by the Joint Research Centre, which allowed for volume calculations on a global scale, a high resolution (30 m) and back to 1984 using very detailed lake area dynamics. Using 18 in situ volume time series as validation, our volume estimates showed a high accuracy.
I. Braud, P.-A. Ayral, C. Bouvier, F. Branger, G. Delrieu, J. Le Coz, G. Nord, J.-P. Vandervaere, S. Anquetin, M. Adamovic, J. Andrieu, C. Batiot, B. Boudevillain, P. Brunet, J. Carreau, A. Confoland, J.-F. Didon-Lescot, J.-M. Domergue, J. Douvinet, G. Dramais, R. Freydier, S. Gérard, J. Huza, E. Leblois, O. Le Bourgeois, R. Le Boursicaud, P. Marchand, P. Martin, L. Nottale, N. Patris, B. Renard, J.-L. Seidel, J.-D. Taupin, O. Vannier, B. Vincendon, and A. Wijbrans
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3733–3761, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3733-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3733-2014, 2014
Olivier Grandjouan, Flora Branger, Matthieu Masson, Benoit Cournoyer, Nicolas Robinet, Pauline Dusseux, Angélique Dominguez Lage, and Marina Coquery
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2234, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2234, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a novel approach aimed at using biogeochemical data from surface water to decompose streamwater flow into spatial and vertical contributions. A selection of tracers was used in a mixing model to estimate contributions at the outlet of a peri-urban catchment. Results provided a better understanding of hydrological processes in the catchment and demonstrated the potential of biogeochemical data to discriminate spatial contributions according to land use.
Eric Sauquet, Guillaume Evin, Sonia Siauve, Ryma Aissat, Patrick Arnaud, Maud Bérel, Jérémie Bonneau, Flora Branger, Yvan Caballero, François Colléoni, Agnès Ducharne, Joël Gailhard, Florence Habets, Frédéric Hendrickx, Louis Héraut, Benoît Hingray, Peng Huang, Tristan Jaouen, Alexis Jeantet, Sandra Lanini, Matthieu Le Lay, Claire Magand, Louise Mimeau, Céline Monteil, Simon Munier, Charles Perrin, Olivier Robelin, Fabienne Rousset, Jean-Michel Soubeyroux, Laurent Strohmenger, Guillaume Thirel, Flore Tocquer, Yves Tramblay, Jean-Pierre Vergnes, and Jean-Philippe Vidal
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1788, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1788, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Short summary
The Explore2 project has provided an unprecedented set of hydrological projections in terms of the number of hydrological models used and the spatial and temporal resolution. The results have been made available through various media. Under the high-emission scenario, the hydrological models mostly agree on the decrease in seasonal flows in the south of France, confirming its hotspot status, and on the decrease in summer flows throughout France, with the exception of the northern part of France.
Louise Mimeau, Annika Künne, Alexandre Devers, Flora Branger, Sven Kralisch, Claire Lauvernet, Jean-Philippe Vidal, Núria Bonada, Zoltán Csabai, Heikki Mykrä, Petr Pařil, Luka Polović, and Thibault Datry
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1615–1636, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1615-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1615-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study projects how climate change will affect the drying of river segments and stream networks in Europe, using advanced modelling techniques to assess changes in six river networks across diverse ecoregions. We found that drying events will become more frequent and intense and will start earlier or last longer, potentially turning some river sections from perennial to intermittent. The results are valuable for river ecologists for evaluating the ecological health of river ecosystem.
Louise Mimeau, Annika Künne, Flora Branger, Sven Kralisch, Alexandre Devers, and Jean-Philippe Vidal
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 851–871, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-851-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-851-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Modelling flow intermittence is essential for predicting the future evolution of drying in river networks and better understanding the ecological and socio-economic impacts. However, modelling flow intermittence is challenging, and observed data on temporary rivers are scarce. This study presents a new modelling approach for predicting flow intermittence in river networks and shows that combining different sources of observed data reduces the model uncertainty.
Samuel Morin, Hugues François, Marion Réveillet, Eric Sauquet, Louise Crochemore, Flora Branger, Étienne Leblois, and Marie Dumont
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4257–4277, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4257-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4257-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ski resorts are a key socio-economic asset of several mountain areas. Grooming and snowmaking are routinely used to manage the snow cover on ski pistes, but despite vivid debate, little is known about their impact on water resources downstream. This study quantifies, for the pilot ski resort La Plagne in the French Alps, the impact of grooming and snowmaking on downstream river flow. Hydrological impacts are mostly apparent at the seasonal scale and rather neutral on the annual scale.
Laurent Strohmenger, Eric Sauquet, Claire Bernard, Jérémie Bonneau, Flora Branger, Amélie Bresson, Pierre Brigode, Rémy Buzier, Olivier Delaigue, Alexandre Devers, Guillaume Evin, Maïté Fournier, Shu-Chen Hsu, Sandra Lanini, Alban de Lavenne, Thibault Lemaitre-Basset, Claire Magand, Guilherme Mendoza Guimarães, Max Mentha, Simon Munier, Charles Perrin, Tristan Podechard, Léo Rouchy, Malak Sadki, Myriam Soutif-Bellenger, François Tilmant, Yves Tramblay, Anne-Lise Véron, Jean-Philippe Vidal, and Guillaume Thirel
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3375–3391, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3375-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3375-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present the results of a large visual inspection campaign of 674 streamflow time series in France. The objective was to detect non-natural records resulting from instrument failure or anthropogenic influences, such as hydroelectric power generation or reservoir management. We conclude that the identification of flaws in flow time series is highly dependent on the objectives and skills of individual evaluators, and we raise the need for better practices for data cleaning.
Emiliano Gelati, Zuzanna Zajac, Andrej Ceglar, Simona Bassu, Bernard Bisselink, Marko Adamovic, Jeroen Bernhard, Anna Malagó, Marco Pastori, Fayçal Bouraoui, and Ad de Roo
Adv. Sci. Res., 17, 227–253, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-17-227-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-17-227-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this modelling study, we conclude that groundwater is used unsustainably for irrigation in several areas of the
Euro-Mediterranean region. In the southern Iberian Peninsula, we estimate the potential effects of reducing irrigation groundwater abstractions to sustainable amounts to prevent long-term decline of groundwater storage. These restrictions may cause crop production losses but halt groundwater depletion and increase river flow during dry periods which is beneficial for ecosystems.
Isabelle Braud, Lilly-Rose Lagadec, Loïc Moulin, Blandine Chazelle, and Pascal Breil
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 947–966, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-947-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-947-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A method for the evaluation of a model that maps the susceptibility of a territory to surface runoff is presented. It is based on proxy data of localized impacts related to runoff. It accounts for the hazard level, the vulnerability of the study area and possible mitigation actions taken to reduce the risk. The evaluation is made on a 80 km railway line in Normandy (north of France), where a comprehensive database of runoff-related impacts on the railway has been gathered over the 20th century.
Tim Busker, Ad de Roo, Emiliano Gelati, Christian Schwatke, Marko Adamovic, Berny Bisselink, Jean-Francois Pekel, and Andrew Cottam
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 669–690, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-669-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-669-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper estimates lake and reservoir volume variations over all continents from 1984 to 2015 using remote sensing alone. This study improves on previous methodologies by using the Global Surface Water dataset developed by the Joint Research Centre, which allowed for volume calculations on a global scale, a high resolution (30 m) and back to 1984 using very detailed lake area dynamics. Using 18 in situ volume time series as validation, our volume estimates showed a high accuracy.
Magdalena Uber, Jean-Pierre Vandervaere, Isabella Zin, Isabelle Braud, Maik Heistermann, Cédric Legoût, Gilles Molinié, and Guillaume Nord
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 6127–6146, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6127-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6127-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate how rivers in a flash-flood-prone region in southern France respond to rainfall depending on initial soil moisture. Therefore, high-resolution data of rainfall, river discharge and soil moisture were used. We find that during dry initial conditions, the rivers hardly respond even for heavy rain events, but for wet initial conditions, the response remains unpredictable: for some rain events almost all rainfall is transformed to discharge, whereas this is not the case for others.
William Amponsah, Pierre-Alain Ayral, Brice Boudevillain, Christophe Bouvier, Isabelle Braud, Pascal Brunet, Guy Delrieu, Jean-François Didon-Lescot, Eric Gaume, Laurent Lebouc, Lorenzo Marchi, Francesco Marra, Efrat Morin, Guillaume Nord, Olivier Payrastre, Davide Zoccatelli, and Marco Borga
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1783–1794, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1783-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1783-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The EuroMedeFF database comprises 49 events that occurred in France, Israel, Germany, Slovenia, Romania, and Italy. The dataset may be of help to hydrologists as well as other scientific communities because it offers benchmark data for the verification of flash flood hydrological models and for hydro-meteorological forecast systems. It provides, moreover, a sample of rainfall and flood discharge extremes in different climates.
Mehdi Rahmati, Lutz Weihermüller, Jan Vanderborght, Yakov A. Pachepsky, Lili Mao, Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi, Niloofar Moosavi, Hossein Kheirfam, Carsten Montzka, Kris Van Looy, Brigitta Toth, Zeinab Hazbavi, Wafa Al Yamani, Ammar A. Albalasmeh, Ma'in Z. Alghzawi, Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo, Antônio Celso Dantas Antonino, George Arampatzis, Robson André Armindo, Hossein Asadi, Yazidhi Bamutaze, Jordi Batlle-Aguilar, Béatrice Béchet, Fabian Becker, Günter Blöschl, Klaus Bohne, Isabelle Braud, Clara Castellano, Artemi Cerdà, Maha Chalhoub, Rogerio Cichota, Milena Císlerová, Brent Clothier, Yves Coquet, Wim Cornelis, Corrado Corradini, Artur Paiva Coutinho, Muriel Bastista de Oliveira, José Ronaldo de Macedo, Matheus Fonseca Durães, Hojat Emami, Iraj Eskandari, Asghar Farajnia, Alessia Flammini, Nándor Fodor, Mamoun Gharaibeh, Mohamad Hossein Ghavimipanah, Teamrat A. Ghezzehei, Simone Giertz, Evangelos G. Hatzigiannakis, Rainer Horn, Juan José Jiménez, Diederik Jacques, Saskia Deborah Keesstra, Hamid Kelishadi, Mahboobeh Kiani-Harchegani, Mehdi Kouselou, Madan Kumar Jha, Laurent Lassabatere, Xiaoyan Li, Mark A. Liebig, Lubomír Lichner, María Victoria López, Deepesh Machiwal, Dirk Mallants, Micael Stolben Mallmann, Jean Dalmo de Oliveira Marques, Miles R. Marshall, Jan Mertens, Félicien Meunier, Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi, Binayak P. Mohanty, Mansonia Pulido-Moncada, Suzana Montenegro, Renato Morbidelli, David Moret-Fernández, Ali Akbar Moosavi, Mohammad Reza Mosaddeghi, Seyed Bahman Mousavi, Hasan Mozaffari, Kamal Nabiollahi, Mohammad Reza Neyshabouri, Marta Vasconcelos Ottoni, Theophilo Benedicto Ottoni Filho, Mohammad Reza Pahlavan-Rad, Andreas Panagopoulos, Stephan Peth, Pierre-Emmanuel Peyneau, Tommaso Picciafuoco, Jean Poesen, Manuel Pulido, Dalvan José Reinert, Sabine Reinsch, Meisam Rezaei, Francis Parry Roberts, David Robinson, Jesús Rodrigo-Comino, Otto Corrêa Rotunno Filho, Tadaomi Saito, Hideki Suganuma, Carla Saltalippi, Renáta Sándor, Brigitta Schütt, Manuel Seeger, Nasrollah Sepehrnia, Ehsan Sharifi Moghaddam, Manoj Shukla, Shiraki Shutaro, Ricardo Sorando, Ajayi Asishana Stanley, Peter Strauss, Zhongbo Su, Ruhollah Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, Encarnación Taguas, Wenceslau Geraldes Teixeira, Ali Reza Vaezi, Mehdi Vafakhah, Tomas Vogel, Iris Vogeler, Jana Votrubova, Steffen Werner, Thierry Winarski, Deniz Yilmaz, Michael H. Young, Steffen Zacharias, Yijian Zeng, Ying Zhao, Hong Zhao, and Harry Vereecken
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1237–1263, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1237-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1237-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents and analyzes a global database of soil infiltration data, the SWIG database, for the first time. In total, 5023 infiltration curves were collected across all continents in the SWIG database. These data were either provided and quality checked by the scientists or they were digitized from published articles. We are convinced that the SWIG database will allow for a better parameterization of the infiltration process in land surface models and for testing infiltration models.
Roland Baatz, Pamela L. Sullivan, Li Li, Samantha R. Weintraub, Henry W. Loescher, Michael Mirtl, Peter M. Groffman, Diana H. Wall, Michael Young, Tim White, Hang Wen, Steffen Zacharias, Ingolf Kühn, Jianwu Tang, Jérôme Gaillardet, Isabelle Braud, Alejandro N. Flores, Praveen Kumar, Henry Lin, Teamrat Ghezzehei, Julia Jones, Henry L. Gholz, Harry Vereecken, and Kris Van Looy
Earth Syst. Dynam., 9, 593–609, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-9-593-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-9-593-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Focusing on the usage of integrated models and in situ Earth observatory networks, three challenges are identified to advance understanding of ESD, in particular to strengthen links between biotic and abiotic, and above- and below-ground processes. We propose developing a model platform for interdisciplinary usage, to formalize current network infrastructure based on complementarities and operational synergies, and to extend the reanalysis concept to the ecosystem and critical zone.
Guillaume Nord, Brice Boudevillain, Alexis Berne, Flora Branger, Isabelle Braud, Guillaume Dramais, Simon Gérard, Jérôme Le Coz, Cédric Legoût, Gilles Molinié, Joel Van Baelen, Jean-Pierre Vandervaere, Julien Andrieu, Coralie Aubert, Martin Calianno, Guy Delrieu, Jacopo Grazioli, Sahar Hachani, Ivan Horner, Jessica Huza, Raphaël Le Boursicaud, Timothy H. Raupach, Adriaan J. Teuling, Magdalena Uber, Béatrice Vincendon, and Annette Wijbrans
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 221–249, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-221-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-221-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
A high space–time resolution dataset linking hydrometeorological forcing and hydro-sedimentary response in a mesoscale catchment (Auzon, 116 km2) of the Ardèche region (France) is presented. This region is subject to precipitating systems of Mediterranean origin, which can result in significant rainfall amount. The data presented cover a period of 4 years (2011–2014) and aim at improving the understanding of processes triggering flash floods.
A.-J. Tinet, A. Chanzy, I. Braud, D. Crevoisier, and F. Lafolie
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 969–980, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-969-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-969-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
In agricultural management, a good timing in operations is essential to enhance economical and environmental performance. To improve such timing, predictive software is of particular interest. The objective of this study is to assess the accuracy of a physically based model with high efficiency. Compared to a more complex software (TEC) under bare soil conditions, a coupled model shows mostly improved efficiency and balance and a good capacity to predict water content thresholds.
C. Velluet, J. Demarty, B. Cappelaere, I. Braud, H. B.-A. Issoufou, N. Boulain, D. Ramier, I. Mainassara, G. Charvet, M. Boucher, J.-P. Chazarin, M. Oï, H. Yahou, B. Maidaji, F. Arpin-Pont, N. Benarrosh, A. Mahamane, Y. Nazoumou, G. Favreau, and J. Seghieri
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 5001–5024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5001-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5001-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term average water and energy cycles are described for two main land cover types in the cultivated Sahel (millet crop and fallow bush). Mean seasonal cycles and annual budgets for all component variables were estimated from detailed field and model analysis. Evapotranspiration totals over 80% of rainfall for both covers, but with different time distribution and soil/plant contributions. The remainder is shared between runoff and deep drainage for the crop, but is only runoff for the fallow.
I. Braud, P.-A. Ayral, C. Bouvier, F. Branger, G. Delrieu, J. Le Coz, G. Nord, J.-P. Vandervaere, S. Anquetin, M. Adamovic, J. Andrieu, C. Batiot, B. Boudevillain, P. Brunet, J. Carreau, A. Confoland, J.-F. Didon-Lescot, J.-M. Domergue, J. Douvinet, G. Dramais, R. Freydier, S. Gérard, J. Huza, E. Leblois, O. Le Bourgeois, R. Le Boursicaud, P. Marchand, P. Martin, L. Nottale, N. Patris, B. Renard, J.-L. Seidel, J.-D. Taupin, O. Vannier, B. Vincendon, and A. Wijbrans
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3733–3761, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3733-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-3733-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Subject: Catchment hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Modelling approaches
CONCN: a high-resolution, integrated surface water–groundwater ParFlow modeling platform of continental China
Evaluating the effects of topography and land use change on hydrological signatures: a comparative study of two adjacent watersheds
Technical note: What does the Standardized Streamflow Index actually reflect? Insights and implications for hydrological drought analysis
Long short-term memory networks for enhancing real-time flood forecasts: a case study for an underperforming hydrologic model
Assessing the value of high-resolution rainfall and streamflow data for hydrological modeling: an analysis based on 63 catchments in southeast China
Catchments do not strictly follow Budyko curves over multiple decades, but deviations are minor and predictable
Scale dependency in modeling nivo-glacial hydrological systems: the case of the Arolla basin, Switzerland
Extended-range forecasting of stream water temperature with deep-learning models
Technical note: An approach for handling multiple temporal frequencies with different input dimensions using a single LSTM cell
Projections of streamflow intermittence under climate change in European drying river networks
Economic valuation of subsurface water contributions to watershed ecosystem services using a fully integrated groundwater–surface-water model
Analyzing the generalization capabilities of a hybrid hydrological model for extrapolation to extreme events
CH-RUN: a deep-learning-based spatially contiguous runoff reconstruction for Switzerland
Runoff component quantification and future streamflow projection in a large mountainous basin based on a multidata-constrained cryospheric–hydrological model
Multi-variable process-based calibration of a behavioural hydrological model
Exploring the potential processes controlling changes in precipitation–runoff relationships in non-stationary environments
A diversity-centric strategy for the selection of spatio-temporal training data for LSTM-based streamflow forecasting
Simulating the Tone River eastward diversion project in Japan carried out 4 centuries ago
Lack of robustness of hydrological models: a large-sample diagnosis and an attempt to identify hydrological and climatic drivers
Achieving water budget closure through physical hydrological process modelling: insights from a large-sample study
Heavy-tailed flood peak distributions: what is the effect of the spatial variability of rainfall and runoff generation?
A Distributed Hybrid Physics-AI Framework for Learning Corrections of Internal Hydrological Fluxes and Enhancing High-Resolution Regionalized Flood Modeling
State updating of the Xin'anjiang model: joint assimilating streamflow and multi-source soil moisture data via the asynchronous ensemble Kalman filter with enhanced error models
Improving the hydrological consistency of a process-based solute-transport model by simultaneous calibration of streamflow and stream concentrations
Leveraging a time-series event separation method to disentangle time-varying hydrologic controls on streamflow – application to wildfire-affected catchments
The significance of the leaf area index for evapotranspiration estimation in SWAT-T for characteristic land cover types of West Africa
Improved representation of soil moisture processes through incorporation of cosmic-ray neutron count measurements in a large-scale hydrologic model
Spatio-temporal patterns and trends of streamflow in water-scarce Mediterranean basins
A large-sample modelling approach towards integrating streamflow and evaporation data for the Spanish catchments
Seasonal variation in land cover estimates reveals sensitivities and opportunities for environmental models
Soil moisture and precipitation intensity control the transit time distribution of quick flow in a flashy headwater catchment
Estimating response times, flow velocities, and roughness coefficients of Canadian Prairie basins
Learning landscape features from streamflow with autoencoders
Hydrological regime index for non-perennial rivers
On the use of streamflow transformations for hydrological model calibration
Simulation-based inference for parameter estimation of complex watershed simulators
Comparative Hydrological Modeling of Snow-Cover and Frozen Ground Impacts Under Topographically Complex Conditions
Multi-scale soil moisture data and process-based modeling reveal the importance of lateral groundwater flow in a subarctic catchment
Catchment response to climatic variability: implications for root zone storage and streamflow predictions
Assesing the Value of High-Resolution Data and Parameters Transferability Across Temporal Scales in Hydrological Modeling: A Case Study in Northern China
Hybrid hydrological modeling for large alpine basins: a semi-distributed approach
Technical note: How many models do we need to simulate hydrologic processes across large geographical domains?
Karst aquifer discharge response to rainfall interpreted as anomalous transport
HESS Opinions: Never train a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network on a single basin
Large-sample hydrology – a few camels or a whole caravan?
Comment on “Are soils overrated in hydrology?” by Gao et al. (2023)
Multi-decadal fluctuations in root zone storage capacity through vegetation adaptation to hydro-climatic variability have minor effects on the hydrological response in the Neckar River basin, Germany
Adaptation of root zone storage capacity to climate change and its effects on future streamflow in Alpine catchments: towards non-stationary model parameters
Projected future changes in the cryosphere and hydrology of a mountainous catchment in the upper Heihe River, China
On the importance of plant phenology in the evaporative process of a semi-arid woodland: could it be why satellite-based evaporation estimates in the miombo differ?
Chen Yang, Zitong Jia, Wenjie Xu, Zhongwang Wei, Xiaolang Zhang, Yiguang Zou, Jeffrey McDonnell, Laura Condon, Yongjiu Dai, and Reed Maxwell
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2201–2218, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2201-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2201-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We developed the first high-resolution, integrated surface water–groundwater hydrologic model of the entirety of continental China using ParFlow. The model shows good performance in terms of streamflow and water table depth when compared to global data products and observations. It is essential for water resources management and decision-making in China within a consistent framework in the changing world. It also has significant implications for similar modeling in other places in the world.
Haifan Liu, Haochen Yan, and Mingfu Guan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2109–2132, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2109-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2109-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Land changes and landscape features critically impact water systems. Studying two watersheds in China’s Greater Bay Area, we found slope strongly influences water processes in mountainous areas. However, this relationship is weak in the lower regions of steeper watersheds. Urbanization leads to an increase in annual surface runoff, while flatter watersheds exhibit a buffering capacity against this effect. However, this buffering capacity diminishes with increasing annual rainfall intensity.
Fabián Lema, Pablo A. Mendoza, Nicolás A. Vásquez, Naoki Mizukami, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, and Ximena Vargas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1981–2002, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1981-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1981-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrological droughts affect ecosystems and socioeconomic activities worldwide. Despite the fact that they are commonly described with the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI), there is limited understanding of what they truly reflect in terms of water cycle processes. Here, we used state-of-the-art hydrological models in Andean basins to examine drivers of SSI fluctuations. The results highlight the importance of careful selection of indices and timescales for accurate drought characterization and monitoring.
Sebastian Gegenleithner, Manuel Pirker, Clemens Dorfmann, Roman Kern, and Josef Schneider
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1939–1962, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1939-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1939-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Accurate early-warning systems are crucial for reducing the damage caused by flooding events. In this study, we explored the potential of long short-term memory networks for enhancing the forecast accuracy of hydrologic models employed in operational flood forecasting. The presented approach elevated the investigated hydrologic model’s forecast accuracy for further ahead predictions and at flood event runoff.
Mahmut Tudaji, Yi Nan, and Fuqiang Tian
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1919–1937, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1919-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1919-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Common intuition holds that higher input data resolution leads to better results. To assess the benefits of high-resolution data, we conduct simulation experiments using data with various temporal resolutions across multiple catchments and find that higher-resolution data do not always improve model performance, challenging the necessity of pursuing such data. In catchments with small areas or significant flow variability, high-resolution data is more valuable.
Muhammad Ibrahim, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Ruud van der Ent, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1703–1723, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1703-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1703-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The quantification of precipitation into evaporation and runoff is vital for water resources management. The Budyko framework, based on aridity and evaporative indices of a catchment, can be an ideal tool for that. However, recent research highlights deviations of catchments from the expected evaporative index, casting doubt on its reliability. This study quantifies deviations of 2387 catchments, finding them minor and predictable. Integrating these into predictions upholds the framework's efficacy.
Anne-Laure Argentin, Pascal Horton, Bettina Schaefli, Jamal Shokory, Felix Pitscheider, Leona Repnik, Mattia Gianini, Simone Bizzi, Stuart N. Lane, and Francesco Comiti
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1725–1748, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1725-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1725-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this article, we show that by taking the optimal parameters calibrated with a semi-lumped model for the discharge at a catchment's outlet, we can accurately simulate runoff at various points within the study area, including three nested and three neighboring catchments. In addition, we demonstrate that employing more intricate melt models, which better represent physical processes, enhances the transfer of parameters in the simulation, until we observe overparameterization.
Ryan S. Padrón, Massimiliano Zappa, Luzi Bernhard, and Konrad Bogner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1685–1702, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1685-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1685-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We generate operational forecasts of daily maximum stream water temperature for 32 consecutive days at 54 stations in Switzerland with our best-performing data-driven model. The average forecast error is 0.38 °C for 1 d ahead and increases to 0.90 °C for 32 d ahead given the uncertainty in the meteorological variables influencing water temperature. Here we compare the skill of several models, how well they can forecast at new and ungauged stations, and the importance of different model inputs.
Eduardo Acuña Espinoza, Frederik Kratzert, Daniel Klotz, Martin Gauch, Manuel Álvarez Chaves, Ralf Loritz, and Uwe Ehret
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1749–1758, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1749-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1749-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Long short-term memory (LSTM) networks have demonstrated state-of-the-art performance for rainfall-runoff hydrological modelling. However, most studies focus on predictions at a daily scale, limiting the benefits of sub-daily (e.g. hourly) predictions in applications like flood forecasting. In this study, we introduce a new architecture, multi-frequency LSTM (MF-LSTM), designed to use inputs of various temporal frequencies to produce sub-daily (e.g. hourly) predictions at a moderate computational cost.
Louise Mimeau, Annika Künne, Alexandre Devers, Flora Branger, Sven Kralisch, Claire Lauvernet, Jean-Philippe Vidal, Núria Bonada, Zoltán Csabai, Heikki Mykrä, Petr Pařil, Luka Polović, and Thibault Datry
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1615–1636, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1615-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1615-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study projects how climate change will affect the drying of river segments and stream networks in Europe, using advanced modelling techniques to assess changes in six river networks across diverse ecoregions. We found that drying events will become more frequent and intense and will start earlier or last longer, potentially turning some river sections from perennial to intermittent. The results are valuable for river ecologists for evaluating the ecological health of river ecosystem.
Tariq Aziz, Steven K. Frey, David R. Lapen, Susan Preston, Hazen A. J. Russell, Omar Khader, Andre R. Erler, and Edward A. Sudicky
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1549–1568, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1549-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1549-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study determines the value of subsurface water for ecosystem services' supply in an agricultural watershed in Ontario, Canada. Using a fully integrated water model and an economic valuation approach, the research highlights subsurface water's critical role in maintaining watershed ecosystem services. The study informs on the sustainable use of subsurface water and introduces a new method for managing watershed ecosystem services.
Eduardo Acuña Espinoza, Ralf Loritz, Frederik Kratzert, Daniel Klotz, Martin Gauch, Manuel Álvarez Chaves, and Uwe Ehret
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1277–1294, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1277-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1277-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Data-driven techniques have shown the potential to outperform process-based models in rainfall–runoff simulations. Hybrid models, combining both approaches, aim to enhance accuracy and maintain interpretability. Expanding the set of test cases to evaluate hybrid models under different conditions, we test their generalization capabilities for extreme hydrological events.
Basil Kraft, Michael Schirmer, William H. Aeberhard, Massimiliano Zappa, Sonia I. Seneviratne, and Lukas Gudmundsson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1061–1082, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1061-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1061-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study reconstructs daily runoff in Switzerland (1962–2023) using a deep-learning model, providing a spatially contiguous dataset on a medium-sized catchment grid. The model outperforms traditional hydrological methods, revealing shifts in Swiss water resources, including more frequent dry years and declining summer runoff. The reconstruction is publicly available.
Mengjiao Zhang, Yi Nan, and Fuqiang Tian
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1033–1060, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1033-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1033-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Owing to differences in the existing published results, we conducted a detailed analysis of the runoff components and future trends in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin and found that the contributions of snowmelt and glacier melt runoff to streamflow (both ~5 %) are limited and much lower than previous results. The streamflow in this area will continuously increase in the future, but the overestimated contribution of glacier melt could lead to an underestimation of this increasing trend.
Moritz Maximilian Heuer, Hadysa Mohajerani, and Markus Christian Casper
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-636, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-636, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a calibration approach for water balance models. The different calibration steps aim at calibrating different hydrological processes: evapotranspiration, the runoff partitioning into surface runoff, interflow and groundwater recharge, as well as the groundwater behaviour. This allows for selection of a model parameterisation that correctly predicts the discharge at catchment outlet and simultaneously correctly depicts the underlying hydrological processes.
Tian Lan, Tongfang Li, Hongbo Zhang, Jiefeng Wu, Yongqin David Chen, and Chong-Yu Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 903–924, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-903-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-903-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study develops an integrated framework based on the novel Driving index for changes in Precipitation–Runoff Relationships (DPRR) to explore the controlling changes in precipitation–runoff relationships in non-stationary environments. According to the quantitative results of the candidate driving factors, the possible process explanations for changes in the precipitation–runoff relationships are deduced. The main contribution offers a comprehensive understanding of hydrological processes.
Everett Snieder and Usman T. Khan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 785–798, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-785-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-785-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Improving the accuracy of flood forecasts is paramount to minimising flood damage. Machine learning (ML) models are increasingly being applied for flood forecasting. Such models are typically trained on large historic hydrometeorological datasets. In this work, we evaluate methods for selecting training datasets that maximise the spatio-temporal diversity of the represented hydrological processes. Empirical results showcase the importance of hydrological diversity in training ML models.
Joško Trošelj and Naota Hanasaki
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 753–766, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-753-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-753-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the first distributed hydrological simulation which confirms claims raised by historians that the eastward diversion project of the Tone River in Japan was conducted 4 centuries ago to increase low flows and subsequent travelling possibilities surrounding the capital, Edo (Tokyo), using inland navigation. We showed that great steps forward can be made for improving quality of life with small human engineering waterworks and small interventions in the regime of natural flows.
Léonard Santos, Vazken Andréassian, Torben O. Sonnenborg, Göran Lindström, Alban de Lavenne, Charles Perrin, Lila Collet, and Guillaume Thirel
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 683–700, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-683-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-683-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This work investigates how hydrological models are transferred to a period in which climate conditions are different to the ones of the period in which they were set up. The robustness assessment test built to detect dependencies between model error and climatic drivers was applied to three hydrological models in 352 catchments in Denmark, France and Sweden. Potential issues are seen in a significant number of catchments for the models, even though the catchments differ for each model.
Xudong Zheng, Dengfeng Liu, Shengzhi Huang, Hao Wang, and Xianmeng Meng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 627–653, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-627-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-627-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Water budget non-closure is a widespread phenomenon among multisource datasets which undermines the robustness of hydrological inferences. This study proposes a Multisource Dataset Correction Framework grounded in Physical Hydrological Process Modelling to enhance water budget closure, termed PHPM-MDCF. We examined the efficiency and robustness of the framework using the CAMELS dataset and achieved an average reduction of 49 % in total water budget residuals across 475 CONUS basins.
Elena Macdonald, Bruno Merz, Viet Dung Nguyen, and Sergiy Vorogushyn
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 447–463, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-447-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-447-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Flood peak distributions indicate how likely the occurrence of an extreme flood is at a certain river. If the distribution has a so-called heavy tail, extreme floods are more likely than might be anticipated. We find heavier tails in small catchments compared to large catchments, and spatially variable rainfall leads to a lower occurrence probability of extreme floods. Spatially variable runoff does not show effects. The results can improve estimations of probabilities of extreme floods.
Ngo Nghi Truyen Huynh, Pierre-André Garambois, Benjamin Renard, François Colleoni, Jérôme Monnier, and Hélène Roux
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3665, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3665, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding and modeling flash flood-prone areas remains challenging due to limited data and scale-relevant hydrological theory. While machine learning shows promise, its integration with process-based models is difficult. We present an approach incorporating machine learning into a high-resolution hydrological model to correct internal fluxes and transfer parameters between watersheds. Results show improved accuracy, advancing development of learnable and interpretable process-based models.
Junfu Gong, Xingwen Liu, Cheng Yao, Zhijia Li, Albrecht H. Weerts, Qiaoling Li, Satish Bastola, Yingchun Huang, and Junzeng Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 335–360, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-335-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-335-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study introduces a new method to improve flood forecasting by combining soil moisture and streamflow data using an advanced data assimilation technique. By integrating field and reanalysis soil moisture data and assimilating this with streamflow measurements, we aim to enhance the accuracy of flood predictions. This approach reduces the accumulation of past errors in the initial conditions at the start of the forecast, helping to better prepare for and respond to floods.
Jordy Salmon-Monviola, Ophélie Fovet, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 127–158, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-127-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-127-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
To increase the predictive power of hydrological models, it is necessary to improve their consistency, i.e. their physical realism, which is measured by the ability of the model to reproduce observed system dynamics. Using a model to represent the dynamics of water and nitrate and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in an agricultural catchment, we showed that using solute-concentration data for calibration is useful to improve the hydrological consistency of the model.
Haley A. Canham, Belize Lane, Colin B. Phillips, and Brendan P. Murphy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 27–43, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-27-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-27-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The influence of watershed disturbances has proved challenging to disentangle from natural streamflow variability. This study evaluates the influence of time-varying hydrologic controls on rainfall–runoff in undisturbed and wildfire-disturbed watersheds using a novel time-series event separation method. Across watersheds, water year type and season influenced rainfall–runoff patterns. Accounting for these controls enabled clearer isolation of wildfire effects.
Fabian Merk, Timo Schaffhauser, Faizan Anwar, Ye Tuo, Jean-Martial Cohard, and Markus Disse
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5511–5539, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5511-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5511-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Evapotranspiration (ET) is computed from the vegetation (plant transpiration) and soil (soil evaporation). In western Africa, plant transpiration correlates with vegetation growth. Vegetation is often represented using the leaf area index (LAI). In this study, we evaluate the importance of the LAI for ET calculation. We take a close look at this interaction and highlight its relevance. Our work contributes to the understanding of terrestrial water cycle processes .
Eshrat Fatima, Rohini Kumar, Sabine Attinger, Maren Kaluza, Oldrich Rakovec, Corinna Rebmann, Rafael Rosolem, Sascha E. Oswald, Luis Samaniego, Steffen Zacharias, and Martin Schrön
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5419–5441, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5419-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5419-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study establishes a framework to incorporate cosmic-ray neutron measurements into the mesoscale Hydrological Model (mHM). We evaluate different approaches to estimate neutron counts within the mHM using the Desilets equation, with uniformly and non-uniformly weighted average soil moisture, and the physically based code COSMIC. The data improved not only soil moisture simulations but also the parameterisation of evapotranspiration in the model.
Laia Estrada, Xavier Garcia, Joan Saló-Grau, Rafael Marcé, Antoni Munné, and Vicenç Acuña
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5353–5373, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5353-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5353-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrological modelling is a powerful tool to support decision-making. We assessed spatio-temporal patterns and trends of streamflow for 2001–2022 with a hydrological model, integrating stakeholder expert knowledge on management operations. The results provide insight into how climate change and anthropogenic pressures affect water resources availability in regions vulnerable to water scarcity, thus raising the need for sustainable management practices and integrated hydrological modelling.
Patricio Yeste, Matilde García-Valdecasas Ojeda, Sonia R. Gámiz-Fortis, Yolanda Castro-Díez, Axel Bronstert, and María Jesús Esteban-Parra
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5331–5352, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5331-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5331-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Integrating streamflow and evaporation data can help improve the physical realism of hydrologic models. We investigate the capabilities of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) to reproduce both hydrologic variables for 189 headwater located in Spain. Results from sensitivity analyses indicate that adding two vegetation parameters is enough to improve the representation of evaporation and that the performance of VIC exceeded that of the largest modelling effort currently available in Spain.
Daniel T. Myers, David Jones, Diana Oviedo-Vargas, John Paul Schmit, Darren L. Ficklin, and Xuesong Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5295–5310, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5295-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5295-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how streamflow and water quality models respond to land cover data collected by satellites during the growing season versus the non-growing season. The land cover data showed more trees during the growing season and more built areas during the non-growing season. We next found that the use of non-growing season data resulted in a higher modeled nutrient export to streams. Knowledge of these sensitivities would be particularly important when models inform water resource management.
Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Karsten Schulz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-359, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-359, 2024
Preprint under review for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
Using advances in transit time estimation and tracer data, we tested if fast-flow transit times are controlled solely by soil moisture or are also controlled by precipitation intensity. We used soil moisture-dependent and precipitation intensity-conditional transfer functions. We showed that significant portion of event water bypasses the soil matrix through fast flow paths (overland flow, tile drains, preferential flow paths) in dry soil conditions for both low and high-intensity precipitation.
Kevin R. Shook, Paul H. Whitfield, Christopher Spence, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5173–5192, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5173-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5173-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Recent studies suggest that the velocities of water running off landscapes in the Canadian Prairies may be much smaller than generally assumed. Analyses of historical flows for 23 basins in central Alberta show that many of the rivers responded more slowly and that the flows are much slower than would be estimated from equations developed elsewhere. The effects of slow flow velocities on the development of hydrological models of the region are discussed, as are the possible causes.
Alberto Bassi, Marvin Höge, Antonietta Mira, Fabrizio Fenicia, and Carlo Albert
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4971–4988, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4971-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4971-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The goal is to remove the impact of meteorological drivers in order to uncover the unique landscape fingerprints of a catchment from streamflow data. Our results reveal an optimal two-feature summary for most catchments, with a third feature associated with aridity and intermittent flow that is needed for challenging cases. Baseflow index, aridity, and soil or vegetation attributes strongly correlate with learnt features, indicating their importance for streamflow prediction.
Pablo Fernando Dornes and Rocío Noelia Comas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-338, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-338, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
The Desaguadero-Salado-Chadiluevú-Curacó (DSCC) River is a semiarid river which is severely dammed in its tributaries which collect the snowmelt runoff. This runoff feeds mostly gravitational irrigation systems of very low efficiency. As a result, the DSCC River does not have natural runoff. The proposed Hydrological Regime Index (HRI) is able to discriminate and quantify regime alterations under permanent and non-permanent flow conditions and with low and high impoundment conditions.
Guillaume Thirel, Léonard Santos, Olivier Delaigue, and Charles Perrin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4837–4860, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4837-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4837-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We discuss how mathematical transformations impact calibrated hydrological model simulations. We assess how 11 transformations behave over the complete range of streamflows. Extreme transformations lead to models that are specialized for extreme streamflows but show poor performance outside the range of targeted streamflows and are less robust. We show that no a priori assumption about transformations can be taken as warranted.
Robert Hull, Elena Leonarduzzi, Luis De La Fuente, Hoang Viet Tran, Andrew Bennett, Peter Melchior, Reed M. Maxwell, and Laura E. Condon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4685–4713, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4685-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4685-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Large-scale hydrologic simulators are a needed tool to explore complex watershed processes and how they may evolve with a changing climate. However, calibrating them can be difficult because they are costly to run and have many unknown parameters. We implement a state-of-the-art approach to model calibration using neural networks with a set of experiments based on streamflow in the upper Colorado River basin.
Nan Wu, Ke Zhang, Amir Naghibi, Hossein Hashemi, Zhongrui Ning, Qinuo Zhang, Xuejun Yi, Haijun Wang, Wei Liu, Wei Gao, and Jerker Jarsjö
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-324, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-324, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
The hydrology of cold regions in the human population is poorly understood due to complex motion and limited data, hindering streamflow analysis. Using existing models, we compared runoff from an extended model with snowmelt and frozen ground, validating its reliability and integration. This study focuses on the effects of snowmelt and frozen ground on runoff, affecting precipitation type, surface-groundwater partitioning, and evapotranspiration.
Jari-Pekka Nousu, Kersti Leppä, Hannu Marttila, Pertti Ala-aho, Giulia Mazzotti, Terhikki Manninen, Mika Korkiakoski, Mika Aurela, Annalea Lohila, and Samuli Launiainen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4643–4666, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4643-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4643-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We used hydrological models, field measurements, and satellite-based data to study the soil moisture dynamics in a subarctic catchment. The role of groundwater was studied with different ways to model the groundwater dynamics and via comparisons to the observational data. The choice of groundwater model was shown to have a strong impact, and representation of lateral flow was important to capture wet soil conditions. Our results provide insights for ecohydrological studies in boreal regions.
Nienke Tempel, Laurène Bouaziz, Riccardo Taormina, Ellis van Noppen, Jasper Stam, Eric Sprokkereef, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4577–4597, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4577-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4577-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the impact of climatic variability on root zone water storage capacities and, thus, on hydrological predictions. Analysing data from 286 areas in Europe and the US, we found that, despite some variations in root zone storage capacity due to changing climatic conditions over multiple decades, these changes are generally minor and have a limited effect on water storage and river flow predictions.
Mahmut Tudaji, Yi Nan, and Fuqiang Tian
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2966, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2966, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We assessed the value of high-resolution data and parameters transferability across temporal scales based on 7 catchments in northern China. We found that higher resolution data does not always improve model performance, questioning the need for such data; Model parameters are transferable across different data resolutions, but not across computational time steps. It is recommended to utilize smaller computational time step when building hydrological models even without high-resolution data.
Bu Li, Ting Sun, Fuqiang Tian, Mahmut Tudaji, Li Qin, and Guangheng Ni
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4521–4538, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4521-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4521-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper developed hybrid semi-distributed hydrological models by employing a process-based model as the backbone and utilizing deep learning to parameterize and replace internal modules. The main contribution is to provide a high-performance tool enriched with explicit hydrological knowledge for hydrological prediction and to improve understanding about the hydrological sensitivities to climate change in large alpine basins.
Wouter J. M. Knoben, Ashwin Raman, Gaby J. Gründemann, Mukesh Kumar, Alain Pietroniro, Chaopeng Shen, Yalan Song, Cyril Thébault, Katie van Werkhoven, Andrew W. Wood, and Martyn P. Clark
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-279, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-279, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrologic models are needed to provide simulations of water availability, floods and droughts. The accuracy of these simulations is often quantified with so-called performance scores. A common thought is that different models are more or less applicable to different landscapes, depending on how the model works. We show that performance scores are not helpful in distinguishing between different models, and thus cannot easily be used to select an appropriate model for a specific place.
Dan Elhanati, Nadine Goeppert, and Brian Berkowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4239–4249, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4239-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4239-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A continuous time random walk framework was developed to allow modeling of a karst aquifer discharge response to measured rainfall. The application of the numerical model yielded robust fits between modeled and measured discharge values, especially for the distinctive long tails found during recession times. The findings shed light on the interplay of slow and fast flow in the karst system and establish the application of the model for simulating flow and transport in such systems.
Frederik Kratzert, Martin Gauch, Daniel Klotz, and Grey Nearing
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4187–4201, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4187-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4187-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Recently, a special type of neural-network architecture became increasingly popular in hydrology literature. However, in most applications, this model was applied as a one-to-one replacement for hydrology models without adapting or rethinking the experimental setup. In this opinion paper, we show how this is almost always a bad decision and how using these kinds of models requires the use of large-sample hydrology data sets.
Franziska Clerc-Schwarzenbach, Giovanni Selleri, Mattia Neri, Elena Toth, Ilja van Meerveld, and Jan Seibert
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4219–4237, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4219-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4219-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We show that the differences between the forcing data included in three CAMELS datasets (US, BR, GB) and the forcing data included for the same catchments in the Caravan dataset affect model calibration considerably. The model performance dropped when the data from the Caravan dataset were used instead of the original data. Most of the model performance drop could be attributed to the differences in precipitation data. However, differences were largest for the potential evapotranspiration data.
Ying Zhao, Mehdi Rahmati, Harry Vereecken, and Dani Or
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4059–4063, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4059-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4059-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Gao et al. (2023) question the importance of soil in hydrology, sparking debate. We acknowledge some valid points but critique their broad, unsubstantiated views on soil's role. Our response highlights three key areas: (1) the false divide between ecosystem-centric and soil-centric approaches, (2) the vital yet varied impact of soil properties, and (3) the call for a scale-aware framework. We aim to unify these perspectives, enhancing hydrology's comprehensive understanding.
Siyuan Wang, Markus Hrachowitz, and Gerrit Schoups
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4011–4033, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4011-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4011-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Root zone storage capacity (Sumax) changes significantly over multiple decades, reflecting vegetation adaptation to climatic variability. However, this temporal evolution of Sumax cannot explain long-term fluctuations in the partitioning of water fluxes as expressed by deviations ΔIE from the parametric Budyko curve over time with different climatic conditions, and it does not have any significant effects on shorter-term hydrological response characteristics of the upper Neckar catchment.
Magali Ponds, Sarah Hanus, Harry Zekollari, Marie-Claire ten Veldhuis, Gerrit Schoups, Roland Kaitna, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-260, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-260, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
This research examines how future climate changes impact root zone storage, a crucial hydrological model parameter. Root zone storage—the soil water accessible to plants—adapts to climate but is often treated as constant in models. We estimated climate-adapted storage for six Austrian Alps catchments. Although storage increased, streamflow projections showed minimal change, indicating that dynamic root zone representation is less critical in humid regions but warrants more study in arid areas.
Zehua Chang, Hongkai Gao, Leilei Yong, Kang Wang, Rensheng Chen, Chuntan Han, Otgonbayar Demberel, Batsuren Dorjsuren, Shugui Hou, and Zheng Duan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3897–3917, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3897-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3897-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
An integrated cryospheric–hydrologic model, FLEX-Cryo, was developed that considers glaciers, snow cover, and frozen soil and their dynamic impacts on hydrology. We utilized it to simulate future changes in cryosphere and hydrology in the Hulu catchment. Our projections showed the two glaciers will melt completely around 2050, snow cover will reduce, and permafrost will degrade. For hydrology, runoff will decrease after the glacier has melted, and permafrost degradation will increase baseflow.
Henry M. Zimba, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Kawawa E. Banda, Petra Hulsman, Nick van de Giesen, Imasiku A. Nyambe, and Hubert H. G. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3633–3663, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3633-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3633-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The fall and flushing of new leaves in the miombo woodlands co-occur in the dry season before the commencement of seasonal rainfall. The miombo species are also said to have access to soil moisture in deep soils, including groundwater in the dry season. Satellite-based evaporation estimates, temporal trends, and magnitudes differ the most in the dry season, most likely due to inadequate understanding and representation of the highlighted miombo species attributes in simulations.
Cited articles
Adamovic, M.: Development of a data-driven distributed hydrological model for regional catchments prone to Mediterranean flash floods. Application to the Ardèche catchment (France), PhD thesis, University of Grenoble, France, 2014.
Adamovic, M. et al.: Interactive comment on "Does the simple dynamical systems approach provide useful information about catchment hydrological functioning in a Mediterranean context? Application to the Ardèche catchment (France)" by M. Adamovic et al., Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 11, C6170–C6171, 2015.
Allen, R., Pereira, L., Raes, D., and Smith, M.: Crop evapotranspiration - Guidelines for computing crop water requirements – FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56, citeulike-article-id:10458368, 1998.
Beven, K. and Binley, A.: The future of distributed models: Model calibration and uncertainty prediction, Hydrol. Proc., 6, 279–298, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.3360060305, 1992.
Beven, K.: Towards a coherent philosophy for modelling the environment, Proc. Roy. Soc. Lnd. A, 458, 2465–2484, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2002.0986, 2002.
Bloschl, G. and Sivapalan, M.: Scale issues in hydrological modelling: a review, Hydrol. Proc., 9, 251–290, 1995.
Bonnifait, L., Delrieu, G., Lay, M. L., Boudevillain, B., Masson, A., Belleudy, P., Gaume, E., and Saulnier, G.-M.: Distributed hydrologic and hydraulic modelling with radar rainfall input: Reconstruction of the 8–9 September 2002 catastrophic flood event in the Gard region, France, Adv. Water Res., 32, 1077–1089, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2009.03.007, 2009.
Boronina, A., Golubev, S., and Balderer, W.: Estimation of actual evapotranspiration from an alluvial aquifer of the Kouris catchment (Cyprus) using continuous streamflow records, Hydrol. Proc., 19, 4055–4068, 2005.
Boudevillain, B., Delrieu, G., Galabertier, B., Bonnifait, L., Bouilloud, L., Kirstetter, P.-E., and Mosini, M.-L.: The Cévennes-Vivarais Mediterranean Hydrometeorological Observatory database, Water Resour. Res., 47, W07701, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010wr010353, 2011.
Branger, F., Dramais, G., Horner, I., Le Boursicaud, R., Le Coz, J., and Renard, B.: Improving the quantification of flash flood hydrographs and reducing their uncertainty using noncontact streamgauging methods, EGU General Assembly 2015, Vienna, 12–17 April 2015, Geophys. Res. Abstr., Vol. 17, EGU2015-5768, 2015.
Braud, I., Roux, H., Anquetin, S., Maubourguet, M.-M., Manus, C., Viallet, P., and Dartus, D.: The use of distributed hydrological models for the Gard 2002 flash flood event: Analysis of associated hydrological processes, J. Hydrol., 394, 162–181, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.03.033, 2010.
Braud, I., Ayral, P. A., Bouvier, C., Branger, F., Delrieu, G., Le Coz, J., Nord, G., Vandervaere, J. P., Anquetin, S., Adamovic, M., Andrieu, J., Batiot, C., Boudevillain, B., Brunet, P., Carreau, J., Confoland, A., Didon-Lescot, J. F., Domergue, J. M., Douvinet, J., Dramais, G., Freydier, R., Gérard, S., Huza, J., Leblois, E., Le Bourgeois, O., Le Boursicaud, R., Marchand, P., Martin, P., Nottale, L., Patris, N., Renard, B., Seidel, J. L., Taupin, J. D., Vannier, O., Vincendon, B., and Wijbrans, A.: Multi-scale hydrometeorological observation and modelling for flash-flood understanding, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 1871–1945, https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-11-1871-2014, 2014.
Brauer, C. C., Teuling, A. J., Torfs, P. J. J. F., and Uijlenhoet, R.: Investigating storage-discharge relations in a lowland catchment using hydrograph fitting, recession analysis, and soil moisture data, Water Resour. Res., 49, 4257–4264, https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20320, 2013.
Brutsaert, W. and Nieber, J. L.: Regionalized drought flow hydrographs from a mature glaciated plateau, Water Resour. Res., 13, 637–643, https://doi.org/10.1029/WR013i003p00637, 1977.
Budyko, M. I.: Climate and life, English Edition, edited by: Miller, D. H., Academic Press, New York, 508 pp., 1974.
Cosandey, C. and Didon-Lescot, J. F.: Etude des crues cevenoles: conditions d'apparition dans un petit bassin forestier sur le versant sud du Mont Lozere, France, International Association of Hydrological Sciences, Wallingford, ROYAUME-UNI, 13 pp., 1989.
Coussot, C.: Assessing and modelling hydrological behaviours of Mediterranean catchments using discharge recession analysis. Master Thesis, HydroHazards, University of Grenoble, France, 54 pp., 2015.
Delrieu, G., Wijbrans, A., Boudevillain, B., Faure, D., Bonnifait, L., and Kirstetter, P.-E.: Geostatistical radar–raingauge merging: A novel method for the quantification of rain estimation accuracy, Adv. Water Resour., 71, 110–124, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2014.06.005, 2014.
Drobinski, P., Ducrocq, V., Alpert, P., Anagnostou, E., Béranger, K., Borga, M., Braud, I., Chanzy, A., Davolio, S., Delrieu, G., Estournel, C., Boubrahmi, N. F., Font, J., Grubisic, V., Gualdi, S., Homar, V., Ivancan-Picek, B., Kottmeier, C., Kotroni, V., Lagouvardos, K., Lionello, P., Llasat, M. C., Ludwig, W., Lutoff, C., Mariotti, A., Richard, E., Romero, R., Rotunno, R., Roussot, O., Ruin, I., Somot, S., Taupier-Letage, I., Tintore, J., Uijlenhoet, R., and Wernli, H.: HyMeX, a 10-year multidisciplinary program on the Mediterranean water cycle, B. Am. Meteor. Soc., 95, 1063–1082, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00242.1, 2013.
Duband, D., Obled, C., and Rodriguez, J. Y.: Unit hydrograph revisited: an alternate iterative approach to UH and effective precipitation identification, J. Hydrol., 150, 115–149, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(93)90158-6, 1993.
Etchevers, P., Durand, Y., Habets, F., Martin, E., and Noilhan, J.: Impact of spatial resolution on the hydrological simulation of the Durance high-Alpine catchment, France, Ann. Glaciol., 32, 87–92, 2001.
Freeze, R. A. and Harlan, R. L.: Blueprint for a physically-based, digitally-simulated hydrologic response model, J. Hydrol., 9, 237–258, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(69)90020-1, 1969.
Fu, B. P.: On the calculation of the evaporation from land surface (in Chinese), Sci. Atmos. Sin., 5, 23–31, 1981.
Gaál, L., Szolgay, J., Kohnová, S., Parajka, J., Merz, R., Viglione, A., and Blöschl, G.: Flood timescales: Understanding the interplay of climate and catchment processes through comparative hydrology, Water Resour. Res., 48, W04511, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR011509, 2012.
Gao, Z. Q., Liu, C. S., Gao, W., and Chang, N. B.: A coupled remote sensing and the Surface Energy Balance with Topography Algorithm (SEBTA) to estimate actual evapotranspiration over heterogeneous terrain, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 119–139, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-119-2011, 2011.
Garambois, P. A., Roux, H., Larnier, K., Castaings, W., and Dartus, D.: Characterization of process-oriented hydrologic model behavior with temporal sensitivity analysis for flash floods in Mediterranean catchments, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 2305–2322, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2305-2013, 2013.
Gaume, E., Bain, V., Bernardara, P., Newinger, O., Barbuc, M., Bateman, A., Blaškovičová, L., Blöschl, G., Borga, M., Dumitrescu, A., Daliakopoulos, I., Garcia, J., Irimescu, A., Kohnova, S., Koutroulis, A., Marchi, L., Matreata, S., Medina, V., Preciso, E., Sempere-Torres, D., Stancalie, G., Szolgay, J., Tsanis, I., Velasco, D., and Viglione, A.: A compilation of data on European flash floods, J. Hydrol., 367, 70–78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.12.028, 2009.
Gottardi, F.: Estimation statistique et reanalyse des precipitations en montagne – Utilisation d'ébauches par types de temps et assimilation de donnees d'enneigement : Application aux grands massifs montagneux francais, Hydrology, Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble-INPG, French, https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/, 261 pp., 2009.
Gudulas, K., Voudouris, K., Soulios, G., and Dimopoulos, G.: Comparison of different methods to estimate actual evapotranspiration and hydrologic balance, Desalination Water Treat., 51, 2945–2954, https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2012.748443, 2013.
Gupta, H. V., Sorooshian, S., and Yapo, P. O.: Status of automatic calibration for hydrologic models: Comparison with multilevel expert calibration, J. Hydrol. Eng., 4, 135–143, 1999.
Hernández, E., Cana, L., Díaz, J., García, R., and Gimeno, L.: Mesoscale convective complexes over the western Mediterranean area during 1990–1994, Meteorl. Atmos. Phys., 68, 1–12, 1998.
Hrachowitz, M., Savenije, H. H. G., Blöschl, G., McDonnell, J. J., Sivapalan, M., Pomeroy, J. W., Arheimer, B., Blume, T., Clark, M. P., Ehret, U., Fenicia, F., Freer, J. E., Gelfan, A., Gupta, H. V., Hughes, D. A., Hut, R. W., Montanari, A., Pande, S., Tetzlaff, D., Troch, P. A., Uhlenbrook, S., Wagener, T., Winsemius, H. C., Woods, R. A., Zehe, E., and Cudennec, C.: A decade of Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB) – a review, Hydrol. Sci. J., 58, 1198–1255, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.803183, 2013.
Kirchner, J. W.: Getting the right answers for the right reasons: Linking measurements, analyses, and models to advance the science of hydrology, Water Resour. Res., 42, W03S04, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005wr004362, 2006.
Kirchner, J. W.: Catchments as simple dynamical systems: Catchment characterization, rainfall-runoff modeling, and doing hydrology backward, Water Resour. Res., 45, W02429, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR006912, 2009.
Klemes, V.: Operational testing of hydrological simulation models, Hydrol. Sci. J., 31, 13–24, 1986.
Klemeš, V.: Conceptualization and scale in hydrology, J. Hydrol., 65, 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(83)90208-1, 1983.
Krier, R., Matgen, P., Goergen, K., Pfister, L., Hoffmann, L., Kirchner, J. W., Uhlenbrook, S., and Savenije, H. H. G.: Inferring catchment precipitation by doing hydrology backward: A test in 24 small and mesoscale catchments in Luxembourg, Water Resour. Res., 48, W10525, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR010657, 2012.
Lafaysse, M., Hingray, B., Etchevers, P., Martin, E., and Obled, C.: Influence of spatial discretization, underground water storage and glacier melt on a physically-based hydrological model of the Upper Durance River basin, J. Hydrol., 403, 116–129, 2011.
Lang, M., Moussay, D., Recking, A., and Naulet, R.: Hydraulic modelling of historical floods: a case study on the Ardeche river at Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, 183–189, 2002.
Le Coz, J., Hauet, A., Pierrefeu, G., Dramais, G., and Camenen, B.: Performance of image-based velocimetry (LSPIV) applied to flash-flood discharge measurements in Mediterranean rivers, J. Hydrol., 394, 42–52, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.05.049, 2010.
Le Coz, J., Renard, B., Bonnifait, L., Branger, F., and Le Boursicaud, R.: Combining hydraulic knowledge and uncertain gaugings in the estimation of hydrometric rating curves: A Bayesian approach, J. Hydrol., 509, 573–587, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.11.016, 2014.
Le Lay, M. and Saulnier, G. M.: Exploring the signature of climate and landscape spatial variabilities in flash flood events: Case of the 8–9 September 2002 Cévennes-Vivarais catastrophic event, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L13401, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL029746, 2007.
Manus, C., Anquetin, S., Braud, I., Vandervaere, J. P., Creutin, J. D., Viallet, P., and Gaume, E.: A modeling approach to assess the hydrological response of small mediterranean catchments to the variability of soil characteristics in a context of extreme events, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 13, 79–97, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-13-79-2009, 2009.
McDonnell, J. J., Sivapalan, M., Vaché, K., Dunn, S., Grant, G., Haggerty, R., Hinz, C., Hooper, R., Kirchner, J., Roderick, M. L., Selker, J., and Weiler, M.: Moving beyond heterogeneity and process complexity: A new vision for watershed hydrology, Water Resour. Res., 43, W07301, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006WR005467, 2007.
Melsen, L. A., Teuling, A. J., van Berkum, S. W., Torfs, P. J. J. F., and Uijlenhoet, R.: Catchments as simple dynamical systems: A case study on methods and data requirements for parameter identification, Water Resour. Res., 50, 5577–5596, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013WR014720, 2014.
Molinié, G., Ceresetti, D., Anquetin, S., Creutin, J. D., and Boudevillain, B.: Rainfall Regime of a Mountainous Mediterranean Region: Statistical Analysis at Short Time Steps, J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol., 51, 429–448, https://doi.org/10.1175/2011JAMC2691.1, 2011.
Moriasi, D. N., Arnold, J. G., Van Liew, M. W., Bingner, R. L., Harmel, R. D., and Veith, T. L.: Model evaluation guidelines for systematic quantification of accuracy in watershed simulations, Trans. ASABE, 50, 885–900, 2007.
Nash, J. E. and Sutcliffe, J. V.: River flow forecasting through conceptual models part I – A discussion of principles, J. Hydrol., 10, 282–290, 1970.
Naulet, R., Lang, M., Ouarda, T. B. M. J., Coeur, D., Bobée, B., Recking, A., and Moussay, D.: Flood frequency analysis on the Ardèche river using French documentary sources from the last two centuries, J. Hydrol., 313, 58–78, 2005.
Pike, J. G.: The estimation of annual run-off from meteorological data in a tropical climate, J. Hydrol., 2, 116–123, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(64)90022-8, 1964.
Quintana-Seguí, P., Le Moigne, P., Durand, Y., Martin, E., Habets, F., Baillon, M., Canellas, C., Franchisteguy, L., and Morel, S.: Analysis of near-surface atmospheric variables: Validation of the SAFRAN analysis over France, J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol., 47, 92–107, 2008.
Samaniego, L., Kumar, R., and Attinger, S.: Multiscale parameter regionalization of a grid-based hydrologic model at the mesoscale, Water Resour. Res., 46, W05523, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR007327, 2010.
Saulnier, G. M. and Le Lay, M.: Sensitivity of flash-flood simulations on the volume, the intensity, and the localization of rainfall in the Cévennes-Vivarais region (France), Water Resour. Res., 45, W10425, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR006906, 2009.
Schreiber, P.: Über die Beziehungen zwischen dem Niederschlag und der Wasserführung der Flüsse in Mitteleuropa, Zeitschr. Meteorol., 21, 441–452, 1904.
Seiler, C. and Moene, A. F.: Estimating Actual Evapotranspiration from Satellite and Meteorological Data in Central Bolivia, Earth Interact., 15, 1–24, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010EI332.1, 2010.
Sempere-Torres, D., Rodriguez-Hernandez, J. Y., and Obled, C.: Using the DPFT approach to improve flash flood forecasting models, Nat. Hazards, 5, 17–41, 1992.
Sheffer, N. A., Enzel, Y., and Benito, G.: Paleofloods in southern France-the Ardeche River, PHEFRA workshop, Barcelona, 25–31, 2002.
Sivapalan, M.: Process complexity at hillslope scale, process simplicity at the watershed scale: is there a connection?, Hydrological Processes, 17, 1037–1041, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.5109, 2003a.
Sivapalan, M.: Prediction in ungauged basins: a grand challenge for theoretical hydrology, Hydrol. Proc., 17, 3163–3170, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.5155, 2003b.
Sivapalan, M.: Pattern, Process and Function: Elements of a Unified Theory of Hydrology at the Catchment Scale, in: Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK, 193–219, https://doi.org/10.1002/0470848944.hsa012, 2006.
Tarboton, D. G., Schreuders, K. A. T., Watson, D. W., and Baker, M. E.: Generalized terrain-based flow analysis of digital elevation models, 18th World IMACS Congress and MODSIM09 International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, 2000–2006, 2009.
Tekleab, S., Uhlenbrook, S., Mohamed, Y., Savenije, H. H. G., Temesgen, M., and Wenninger, J.: Water balance modeling of Upper Blue Nile catchments using a top-down approach, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 2179–2193, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2179-2011, 2011.
Teuling, A. J., Lehner, I., Kirchner, J. W., and Seneviratne, S. I.: Catchments as simple dynamical systems: Experience from a Swiss prealpine catchment, Water Resour. Res., 46, W10502, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008777, 2010.
Thierion, C., Longuevergne, L., Habets, F., Ledoux, E., Ackerer, P., Majdalani, S., Leblois, E., Lecluse, S., Martin, E., Queguiner, S., and Viennot, P.: Assessing the water balance of the Upper Rhine Graben hydrosystem, J. Hydrol., 424–425, 68–83, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.12.028, 2012.
Thornthwaite, C. and Mather, J.: The water balance, Climatology, VIII, New Jersey, NY, 1–37, 1955.
Tramblay Y., Bouvier C., Crespy A., and Marchandise A.: Improvement of flash flood modelling using spatial patterns of rainfall: a case study in south of France. Global Change: Facing Risks and Threats to Water Resources Proceedings of the Sixth World FRIEND Conference, Fez, Morocco, October 2010, IAHS Publ. 340, 172–178, http://y.tramblay.free.fr/doc/Tramblay-redbook.340.pdf, 2010.
Turc, L.: Nouvelles formules pour le bilan d'eau en fonction des valeurs moyennes annuelles de précipitations et de la température, Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris, 233, 633–635, 1951.
Uhlenbrook, S., Seibert, J. A. N., Leibundgut, C., and Rodhe, A.: Prediction uncertainty of conceptual rainfall-runoff models caused by problems in identifying model parameters and structure, Hydrol. Sci. J., 44, 779–797, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626669909492273, 1999.
Vannier, O.: Apport de la modélisation hydrologique régionale à la compréhension des processus de crue en zone méditerranéenne, Thèse de l'Ecole doctorale Terre, Univers, Environnement, University of Grenoble, Grenoble, France, 22 November 2013, 274 pp., 2013.
Vannier, O., Braud, I., and Anquetin, S.: Regional estimation of catchment-scale soil properties by means of streamflow recession analysis for use in distributed hydrological models, Hydrol. Proc., 28, 6276–6291, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10101, 2014.
Vidal, J. P., Martin, E., Franchistéguy, L., Baillon, M., and Soubeyroux, J. M.: A 50-year high-resolution atmospheric reanalysis over France with the Safran system, Int. J. Climatol., 30, 1627–1644, 2010.
Yan, Z., Gottschalk, L., Leblois, E., and Xia, J.: Joint mapping of water balance components in a large Chinese basin, J. Hydrol., 450–451, 59–69, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.05.030, 2012.
Wittenberg, H. and Sivapalan, M.: Watershed groundwater balance estimation using streamflow recession analysis and baseflow separation, J. Hydrol., 219, 20–33, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-1694(99)00040-2, 1999.
Zehe, E., Lee, H., and Sivapalan, M.: Dynamical process upscaling for deriving catchment scale state variables and constitutive relations for meso-scale process models, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 10, 981–996, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-10-981-2006, 2006.
Zhang, L., Hickel, K., Dawes, W. R., Chiew, F. H. S., Western, A. W., and Briggs, P. R.: A rational function approach for estimating mean annual evapotranspiration, Water Resour. Res., 40, W02502, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003WR002710, 2004.
Zhang, L., Potter, N., Hickel, K., Zhang, Y., and Shao, Q.: Water balance modeling over variable time scales based on the Budyko framework – Model development and testing, J. Hydrol., 360, 117–131, 2008.
Short summary
This study explores how catchment heterogeneity and variability can be summarized in simplified models, representing the dominant hydrological processes. We apply simple dynamical system approach (Kirchner, 2009) in the Ardèche catchment (south-east France). The simple dynamical system hypothesis works especially well in wet conditions (peaks and recessions are well modelled) and for granite catchments, which are likely to be characterized by shallow subsurface flow.
This study explores how catchment heterogeneity and variability can be summarized in simplified...
