Articles | Volume 21, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1107-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1107-2017
Opinion article
 | 
22 Feb 2017
Opinion article |  | 22 Feb 2017

HESS Opinions Catchments as meta-organisms – a new blueprint for hydrological modelling

Hubert H. G. Savenije and Markus Hrachowitz

Related authors

Root zone in the Earth system
Hongkai Gao, Markus Hrachowitz, Lan Wang-Erlandsson, Fabrizio Fenicia, Qiaojuan Xi, Jianyang Xia, Wei Shao, Ge Sun, and Hubert H. G. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4477–4499, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4477-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4477-2024, 2024
Short summary
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?
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
The hydrological system as a living organism
Hubert H. G. Savenije
Proc. IAHS, 385, 1–4, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-385-1-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-385-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Widespread increase of root zone storage capacity in the United States
Jiaxing Liang, Hongkai Gao, Fabrizio Fenicia, Qiaojuan Xi, Yahui Wang, and Hubert H. G. Savenije
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-550,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-550, 2024
Short summary
Towards affordable 3D physics-based river flow rating: application over the Luangwa River basin
Hubert T. Samboko, Sten Schurer, Hubert H. G. Savenije, Hodson Makurira, Kawawa Banda, and Hessel Winsemius
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 12, 155–169, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-12-155-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-12-155-2023, 2023
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Catchment hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Modelling approaches
The significance of the leaf area index for evapotranspiration estimation in SWAT-T for characteristic land cover types of West Africa
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
Improved representation of soil moisture processes through incorporation of cosmic-ray neutron count measurements in a large-scale hydrologic model
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
Spatio-temporal patterns and trends of streamflow in water-scarce Mediterranean basins
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
A large-sample modelling approach towards integrating streamflow and evaporation data for the Spanish catchments
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
Seasonal variation in land cover estimates reveals sensitivities and opportunities for environmental models
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

Cited articles

Alila, Y., Kuraś, P. K., Schnorbus, M., and Hudson, R.: Forests and floods: A new paradigm sheds light on age-old controversies, Water Resour. Res., 45, W08416, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR007207, 2009.
Ambroise, B., Beven, K., and Freer, J.: Toward a generalization of the TOPMODEL concepts: Topographic indices of hydrological similarity, Water Resour. Res., 32, 2135–2145, 1996.
Andreadis, K. M. and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Assimilating remotely sensed snow observations into a macroscale hydrology model, Adv. Water Resour., 29, 872–886, 2006.
Bak, P.: How nature works: the science of self-organized criticality, Springer, New York, 1996.
Beven, K. J.: Changing ideas in hydrology – the case of physically-based models, J. Hydrol., 105, 157–172, 1989.
Download
Short summary
The natural environment that we live in is the result of evolution. This does not only apply to ecosystems, but also to the physical environment through which the water flows. This has resulted in the formation of flow patterns that obey sometimes surprisingly simple mathematical laws. Hydrological models should represent the physics of these patterns and should account for the fact that the ecosystem adjusts itself continuously to changing circumstances. Physics-based models are alive!