Articles | Volume 22, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6415-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6415-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Dec 2018
Research article |
| 10 Dec 2018
| 10 Dec 2018
Redressing the balance: quantifying net intercatchment groundwater flows
Laurène Bouaziz
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Water Resources Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and
Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5048, 2600 GA Delft,
the Netherlands
Department Catchment and Urban Hydrology,
Deltares, Boussinesqweg 1, 2629 HV Delft, the Netherlands
Albrecht Weerts
Department Catchment and Urban Hydrology,
Deltares, Boussinesqweg 1, 2629 HV Delft, the Netherlands
Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, Department of
Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Jaap Schellekens
VanderSat, Wilhelminastraat 43A, 2011 VK Haarlem, the Netherlands
Eric Sprokkereef
Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Zuiderwagenplein
2, 8224 AD Lelystad, the Netherlands
Jasper Stam
Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Zuiderwagenplein
2, 8224 AD Lelystad, the Netherlands
Hubert Savenije
Water Resources Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and
Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5048, 2600 GA Delft,
the Netherlands
Markus Hrachowitz
Water Resources Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and
Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5048, 2600 GA Delft,
the Netherlands
Related authors
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.
Willem J. van Verseveld, Albrecht H. Weerts, Martijn Visser, Joost Buitink, Ruben O. Imhoff, Hélène Boisgontier, Laurène Bouaziz, Dirk Eilander, Mark Hegnauer, Corine ten Velden, and Bobby Russell
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 3199–3234, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3199-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3199-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present the wflow_sbm distributed hydrological model, recently released by Deltares, as part of the Wflow.jl open-source modelling framework in the programming language Julia. Wflow_sbm has a fast runtime, making it suitable for large-scale modelling. Wflow_sbm models can be set a priori for any catchment with the Python tool HydroMT-Wflow based on globally available datasets, which results in satisfactory to good performance (without much tuning). We show this for a number of specific cases.
Laurène J. E. Bouaziz, Emma E. Aalbers, Albrecht H. Weerts, Mark Hegnauer, Hendrik Buiteveld, Rita Lammersen, Jasper Stam, Eric Sprokkereef, Hubert H. G. Savenije, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1295–1318, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1295-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1295-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Assuming stationarity of hydrological systems is no longer appropriate when considering land use and climate change. We tested the sensitivity of hydrological predictions to changes in model parameters that reflect ecosystem adaptation to climate and potential land use change. We estimated a 34 % increase in the root zone storage parameter under +2 K global warming, resulting in up to 15 % less streamflow in autumn, due to 14 % higher summer evaporation, compared to a stationary system.
Muhammad Ibrahim, Markus Hrachowitz, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, and Ruud van der Ent
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4226, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4226, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Short summary
Root zone storage capacity is an important parameter in hydrological and land-surface models and is often estimated using the memory method rather than through model calibration. We evaluated the uncertainty associated with this widely used method across thousands of catchments worldwide. Our results show that uncertainty varies systematically with climate, while memory method estimates remain in close agreement with calibrated values, supporting the commonly used 20-year return period.
Julia M. Rudlang, Thiago V. M. do Nascimento, Ruud van der Ent, Fabrizio Fenicia, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 4481–4508, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-4481-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-4481-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
River flow (streamflow) behaviour varies across Europe and is shaped by climate and landscape. Using data from more than 7000 European catchments, we identified 10 hydrological response types based on flow magnitude, timing, and seasonality. At the continental scale, streamflow behaviour is mainly driven by climate, but landscape features are equally or more influential in several regions. These results show that streamflow behaviour emerges from the combined effects of climate and landscape.
Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 1053–1076, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1053-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1053-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that streamflow isotope data in a catchment-scale isotope-based transport model were sufficient to isolate preferential flow in the unsaturated zone but insufficient to isolate the preferential release of young groundwater, as isotope signals were strongly damped by large passive groundwater storage. As a result, groundwater age-selection assumptions affected estimates of long transit times, making it difficult to quantify the fraction of stream water older than 100 days.
Thiago V. M. do Nascimento, Julia Rudlang, Sebastian Gnann, Jan Seibert, Markus Hrachowitz, and Fabrizio Fenicia
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 7173–7200, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-7173-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-7173-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We show that geological maps with varying levels of detail may influence the identification of geology–streamflow relationships across European catchments at multiple scales. At the large scale, controls varied between basins, with no map consistently superior. At the intermediate and small scales, however, higher geological detail consistently strengthened correlations, particularly for baseflow signatures, with the regional map highlighting controls more consistent with process understanding.
Nathalie Rombeek, Markus Hrachowitz, and Remko Uijlenhoet
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 6715–6733, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6715-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6715-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
On 29 October 2024 Valencia (Spain) was struck by torrential rainfall, triggering devastating floods in this area. In this study, we quantify and describe the spatial and temporal structure of this rainfall event using personal weather stations (PWSs). These PWSs provide near real-time observations at a temporal resolution of ~5 min. This study shows the potential of PWSs for real-time rainfall monitoring and potentially flood early warning systems by complementing dedicated rain gauge networks.
Nathalie Rombeek, Markus Hrachowitz, Arjan Droste, and Remko Uijlenhoet
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 4585–4606, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-4585-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-4585-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Rain gauge networks from personal weather stations (PWSs) have a network density 100 times higher than dedicated rain gauge networks in the Netherlands. However, PWSs are prone to several sources of error, as they are generally not installed and maintained according to international guidelines. This study systematically quantifies and describes the uncertainties arising from PWS rainfall estimates. In particular, the focus is on the highest rainfall accumulations.
Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Karsten Schulz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3935–3956, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3935-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3935-2025, 2025
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 if they are also controlled by precipitation intensity. We used soil-moisture-dependent and precipitation-intensity-conditional transfer functions. We showed that a 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.
Magali Ponds, Sarah Hanus, Harry Zekollari, Marie-Claire ten Veldhuis, Gerrit Schoups, Roland Kaitna, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3545–3568, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3545-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3545-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This research examines how future climate changes impact root zone storage, a key hydrological model parameter. Root zone storage – the soil water accessible to plants – adapts to climate but is often kept constant in models. We estimated climate-adapted storage in six Austrian Alps catchments. While storage increased, streamflow projections showed minimal change, which suggests that dynamic root zone representation is less critical in humid regions but warrants further study in arid areas.
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.
Devi Purnamasari, Adriaan J. Teuling, and Albrecht H. Weerts
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1483–1503, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1483-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1483-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This paper introduces a method to identify irrigated areas by combining hydrology models with satellite temperature data. Our method was tested in the Rhine basin and aligns well with official statistics. It performs best in regions with large farms and less well in areas with small farms. Observed differences to existing data are influenced by data resolution and methods.
Wouter R. Berghuijs, Ross A. Woods, Bailey J. Anderson, Anna Luisa Hemshorn de Sánchez, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1319–1333, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1319-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1319-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Water balances of catchments will often strongly depend on their state in the recent past, but such memory effects may persist at annual timescales. We use global data sets to show that annual memory is typically absent in precipitation but strong in terrestrial water stores and also present in evaporation and streamflow (including low flows and floods). Our experiments show that hysteretic models provide behaviour that is consistent with these observed memory behaviours.
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.
Steven Reinaldo Rusli, Victor F. Bense, Syed M. T. Mustafa, and Albrecht H. Weerts
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5107–5131, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5107-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5107-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we investigate the impact of climatic and anthropogenic factors on future groundwater availability. The changes are simulated using hydrological and groundwater flow models. We find that future groundwater status is influenced more by anthropogenic factors than climatic factors. The results are beneficial for informing responsible parties in operational water management about achieving future (ground)water governance.
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.
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
Short summary
The concept of the root zone is widely used but lacks a precise definition. Its importance in Earth system science is not well elaborated upon. Here, we clarified its definition with several similar terms to bridge the multi-disciplinary gap. We underscore the key role of the root zone in the Earth system, which links the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and anthroposphere. To better represent the root zone, we advocate for a paradigm shift towards ecosystem-centred modelling.
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.
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.
Fransje van Oorschot, Ruud J. van der Ent, Andrea Alessandri, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2313–2328, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2313-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2313-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Vegetation plays a crucial role in regulating the water cycle by transporting water from the subsurface to the atmosphere via roots; this transport depends on the extent of the root system. In this study, we quantified the effect of irrigation on roots at a global scale. Our results emphasize the importance of accounting for irrigation in estimating the vegetation root extent, which is essential to adequately represent the water cycle in hydrological and climate models.
Willem J. van Verseveld, Albrecht H. Weerts, Martijn Visser, Joost Buitink, Ruben O. Imhoff, Hélène Boisgontier, Laurène Bouaziz, Dirk Eilander, Mark Hegnauer, Corine ten Velden, and Bobby Russell
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 3199–3234, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3199-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3199-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present the wflow_sbm distributed hydrological model, recently released by Deltares, as part of the Wflow.jl open-source modelling framework in the programming language Julia. Wflow_sbm has a fast runtime, making it suitable for large-scale modelling. Wflow_sbm models can be set a priori for any catchment with the Python tool HydroMT-Wflow based on globally available datasets, which results in satisfactory to good performance (without much tuning). We show this for a number of specific cases.
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
Short summary
Hydrology is the bloodstream of the Earth, acting as a living organism, with the ecosystem as its active agent. The ecosystem optimises its survival within the constraints of energy, water, climate and nutrients. It is capable of adjusting the hydrological system and, through evolution, adjust its efficiency of carbon sequestration and moisture uptake. In trying to understand future functioning of hydrology, we have to take into account the adaptability of the ecosystem.
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
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
The root zone storage capacity (Sumax) is a key element in hydrology and land-atmospheric interaction. In this study, we utilized a hydrological model and a dynamic parameter identification method, to quantify the temporal trends of Sumax for 497 catchments in the USA. We found that 423 catchments (85 %) showed increasing Sumax, which averagely increased from 178 to 235 mm between 1980 and 2014. The increasing trend was also validated by multi-sources data and independent methods.
Marjanne J. Zander, Pety J. Viguurs, Frederiek C. Sperna Weiland, and Albrecht H. Weerts
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2023-274, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2023-274, 2023
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Flash floods are damaging natural hazard which often occur in the European Alps. High resolution climate model output is combined with high resolution distributed hydrological models to model changes in flash flood frequency and intensity. Results show a similar flash flood frequency for autumn in the future, but a decrease in summer. However, the future discharge simulations indicate an increase in the flash flood severity in both summer and autumn leading to more severe flash flood impacts.
Fransje van Oorschot, Ruud J. van der Ent, Markus Hrachowitz, Emanuele Di Carlo, Franco Catalano, Souhail Boussetta, Gianpaolo Balsamo, and Andrea Alessandri
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 1239–1259, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1239-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1239-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Vegetation largely controls land hydrology by transporting water from the subsurface to the atmosphere through roots and is highly variable in space and time. However, current land surface models have limitations in capturing this variability at a global scale, limiting accurate modeling of land hydrology. We found that satellite-based vegetation variability considerably improved modeled land hydrology and therefore has potential to improve climate predictions of, for example, droughts.
Bas J. M. Wullems, Claudia C. Brauer, Fedor Baart, and Albrecht H. Weerts
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3823–3850, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3823-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3823-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In deltas, saltwater sometimes intrudes far inland and causes problems with freshwater availability. We created a model to forecast salt concentrations at a critical location in the Rhine–Meuse delta in the Netherlands. It requires a rather small number of data to make a prediction and runs fast. It predicts the occurrence of salt concentration peaks well but underestimates the highest peaks. Its speed gives water managers more time to reduce the problems caused by salt intrusion.
Siyuan Wang, Markus Hrachowitz, Gerrit Schoups, and Christine Stumpp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3083–3114, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3083-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3083-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that previously reported underestimations of water ages are most likely not due to the use of seasonally variable tracers. Rather, these underestimations can be largely attributed to the choices of model approaches which rely on assumptions not frequently met in catchment hydrology. We therefore strongly advocate avoiding the use of this model type in combination with seasonally variable tracers and instead adopting StorAge Selection (SAS)-based or comparable model formulations.
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
Short summary
The study investigates how low-cost technology can be applied in data-scarce catchments to improve water resource management. More specifically, we investigate how drone technology can be combined with low-cost real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) equipment and subsequently applied to a 3D hydraulic model so as to generate more physically based rating curves.
Hongkai Gao, Fabrizio Fenicia, and Hubert H. G. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2607–2620, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2607-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
It is a deeply rooted perception that soil is key in hydrology. In this paper, we argue that it is the ecosystem, not the soil, that is in control of hydrology. Firstly, in nature, the dominant flow mechanism is preferential, which is not particularly related to soil properties. Secondly, the ecosystem, not the soil, determines the land–surface water balance and hydrological processes. Moving from a soil- to ecosystem-centred perspective allows more realistic and simpler hydrological models.
Nutchanart Sriwongsitanon, Wasana Jandang, James Williams, Thienchart Suwawong, Ekkarin Maekan, and Hubert H. G. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2149–2171, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2149-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2149-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We developed predictive semi-distributed rainfall–runoff models for nested sub-catchments in the upper Ping basin, which yielded better or similar performance compared to calibrated lumped models. The normalised difference infrared index proves to be an effective proxy for distributed root zone moisture capacity over sub-catchments and is well correlated with the percentage of evergreen forest. In validation, soil moisture simulations appeared to be highly correlated with the soil wetness index.
Henry Zimba, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Kawawa Banda, Bart Schilperoort, Nick van de Giesen, Imasiku Nyambe, and Hubert H. G. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1695–1722, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1695-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1695-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Miombo woodland plants continue to lose water even during the driest part of the year. This appears to be facilitated by the adapted features such as deep rooting (beyond 5 m) with access to deep soil moisture, potentially even ground water. It appears the trend and amount of water that the plants lose is correlated more to the available energy. This loss of water in the dry season by miombo woodland plants appears to be incorrectly captured by satellite-based evaporation estimates.
Pau Wiersma, Jerom Aerts, Harry Zekollari, Markus Hrachowitz, Niels Drost, Matthias Huss, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, and Rolf Hut
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5971–5986, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5971-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5971-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We test whether coupling a global glacier model (GloGEM) with a global hydrological model (PCR-GLOBWB 2) leads to a more realistic glacier representation and to improved basin runoff simulations across 25 large-scale basins. The coupling does lead to improved glacier representation, mainly by accounting for glacier flow and net glacier mass loss, and to improved basin runoff simulations, mostly in strongly glacier-influenced basins, which is where the coupling has the most impact.
Judith Uwihirwe, Alessia Riveros, Hellen Wanjala, Jaap Schellekens, Frederiek Sperna Weiland, Markus Hrachowitz, and Thom A. Bogaard
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3641–3661, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3641-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3641-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study compared gauge-based and satellite-based precipitation products. Similarly, satellite- and hydrological model-derived soil moisture was compared to in situ soil moisture and used in landslide hazard assessment and warning. The results reveal the cumulative 3 d rainfall from the NASA-GPM to be the most effective landslide trigger. The modelled antecedent soil moisture in the root zone was the most informative hydrological variable for landslide hazard assessment and warning in Rwanda.
Jerom P. M. Aerts, Rolf W. Hut, Nick C. van de Giesen, Niels Drost, Willem J. van Verseveld, Albrecht H. Weerts, and Pieter Hazenberg
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4407–4430, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4407-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4407-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In recent years gridded hydrological modelling moved into the realm of hyper-resolution modelling (<10 km). In this study, we investigate the effect of varying grid-cell sizes for the wflow_sbm hydrological model. We used a large sample of basins from the CAMELS data set to test the effect that varying grid-cell sizes has on the simulation of streamflow at the basin outlet. Results show that there is no single best grid-cell size for modelling streamflow throughout the domain.
Hongkai Gao, Chuntan Han, Rensheng Chen, Zijing Feng, Kang Wang, Fabrizio Fenicia, and Hubert Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4187–4208, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4187-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4187-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Frozen soil hydrology is one of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH). In this study, we developed a novel conceptual frozen soil hydrological model, FLEX-Topo-FS. The model successfully reproduced the soil freeze–thaw process, and its impacts on hydrologic connectivity, runoff generation, and groundwater. We believe this study is a breakthrough for the 23 UPH, giving us new insights on frozen soil hydrology, with broad implications for predicting cold region hydrology in future.
Mar J. Zander, Pety J. Viguurs, Frederiek C. Sperna Weiland, and Albrecht H. Weerts
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-207, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-207, 2022
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
We perform a modelling study to research potential future changes in flash flood occurrence in the European Alps. We use new high-resolution numerical climate simulations, which can simulate the type of local, intense rainstorms which trigger flash floods, combined with high-resolution hydrological modelling. We find that flash floods would become less frequent in summers in our future climate scenario, with little change in autumns. However, the maximal severity would increase in both seasons.
Judith Uwihirwe, Markus Hrachowitz, and Thom Bogaard
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1723–1742, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1723-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1723-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This research tested the value of regional groundwater level information to improve landslide predictions with empirical models based on the concept of threshold levels. In contrast to precipitation-based thresholds, the results indicated that relying on threshold models exclusively defined using hydrological variables such as groundwater levels can lead to improved landslide predictions due to their implicit consideration of long-term antecedent conditions until the day of landslide occurrence.
Henry Zimba, Miriam Coenders-Gerrits, Kawawa Banda, Petra Hulsman, Nick van de Giesen, Imasiku Nyambe, and Hubert Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-114, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-114, 2022
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
We compare performance of evaporation models in the Luangwa Basin located in a semi-arid and complex Miombo ecosystem in Africa. Miombo plants changes colour, drop off leaves and acquire new leaves during the dry season. In addition, the plant roots go deep in the soil and appear to access groundwater. Results show that evaporation models with structure and process that do not capture this unique plant structure and behaviour appears to have difficulties to correctly estimating evaporation.
Elisa Ragno, Markus Hrachowitz, and Oswaldo Morales-Nápoles
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1695–1711, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1695-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1695-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the ability of non-parametric Bayesian networks to reproduce maximum daily discharge in a given month in a catchment when the remaining hydro-meteorological and catchment attributes are known. We show that a saturated network evaluated in an individual catchment can reproduce statistical characteristics of discharge in about ~ 40 % of the cases, while challenges remain when a saturated network considering all the catchments together is evaluated.
Laurène J. E. Bouaziz, Emma E. Aalbers, Albrecht H. Weerts, Mark Hegnauer, Hendrik Buiteveld, Rita Lammersen, Jasper Stam, Eric Sprokkereef, Hubert H. G. Savenije, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1295–1318, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1295-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1295-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Assuming stationarity of hydrological systems is no longer appropriate when considering land use and climate change. We tested the sensitivity of hydrological predictions to changes in model parameters that reflect ecosystem adaptation to climate and potential land use change. We estimated a 34 % increase in the root zone storage parameter under +2 K global warming, resulting in up to 15 % less streamflow in autumn, due to 14 % higher summer evaporation, compared to a stationary system.
Hubert T. Samboko, Sten Schurer, Hubert H. G. Savenije, Hodson Makurira, Kawawa Banda, and Hessel Winsemius
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 11, 1–23, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-11-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-11-1-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The study was conducted along the Luangwa River in Zambia. It combines low-cost instruments such as UAVs and GPS kits to collect data for the purposes of water management. A novel technique which seamlessly merges the dry and wet bathymetry before application in a hydraulic model was applied. Successful implementation resulted in water authorities with small budgets being able to monitor flows safely and efficiently without significant compromise on accuracy.
Dirk Eilander, Willem van Verseveld, Dai Yamazaki, Albrecht Weerts, Hessel C. Winsemius, and Philip J. Ward
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5287–5313, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5287-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5287-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Digital elevation models and derived flow directions are crucial to distributed hydrological modeling. As the spatial resolution of models is typically coarser than these data, we need methods to upscale flow direction data while preserving the river structure. We propose the Iterative Hydrography Upscaling (IHU) method and show it outperforms other often-applied methods. We publish the multi-resolution MERIT Hydro IHU hydrography dataset and the algorithm as part of the pyflwdir Python package.
Cited articles
Ajami, H., Troch, P. A., Maddock, T., Meixner, T., and Eastoe, C.:
Quantifying
mountain block recharge by means of catchment-scale storage-discharge
relationships, Water Resour. Res., 47, W04504, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009598., 2011.
Ameli, A., Gabrielli, C., Morgenstern, U., and McDonnell, J.: Groundwater
subsidy from headwaters to their parent water watershed: A combined
field-modeling approach, Water Resour. Res., 54, 5110–5125, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017WR022356, 2018.
Ameli, A. A., Beven, K., Erlandsson, M., Creed, I. F., McDonnell, J. J., and
Bishop, K.: Primary weathering rates, water transit times, and
concentration-discharge relations: A theoretical analysis for the critical
zone, Water Resour. Res., 53, 942–960, 2017.
Andréassian, V. and Perrin, C.: On the ambiguous interpretation of the
Turc-Budyko nondimensional graph, Water Resour. Res., 48, W10601, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012WR012532, 2012.
Banque Hydro: ©Ministère de l'Ecologie, du Développement
Durable et de l'Energie, available at: http://hydro.eaufrance.fr/ (last
access: 15 May 2017), 2015.
Berghuijs, W., Woods, R., and Hrachowitz, M.: A precipitation shift from snow
towards rain leads to a decrease in streamflow, Nat. Clim. Change, 4,
583–586, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2246, 2014.
Bergström, S.: The HBV model: Its structure and applications, Swedish
Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Norrkoping, Sweden, 1992.
Beven, K.: On hypothesis testing in hydrology, Hydrol. Process., 15,
1655–1657, 2001.
Beven, K. J. and Kirkby, M. J.: A physically based, variable contributing
area
model of basin hydrology, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 24, 43–69, 1979.
Budyko, M. I.: The heat balance of the earth's surface, Sov. Geogr., 2,
3–13, 1961.
Chiew, F. and McMahon, T.: Estimating groundwater recharge using a surface
watershed modelling approach, J. Hydrol., 114, 285–304,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(90)90062-3, 1990.
de Wit, M.: Van regen tot Maas, chap. De ondergrond, p. 54, Uitgeverij Veen
Magazines, Diemen, the Netherlands, 2008.
de Wit, M., Warmerdam, P., Torfs, P., Uijlenhoet, R., Roulin, E., Cheymol,
A.,
Van Deursen, W., Van Walsum, P., Ververs, M., Kwadijk, J., and Buiteveld, H: Effect of
climate change on the hydrology of the river Meuse, Wageningen UR, the Netherlands, 2001.
FAO: AQUASTAT website, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations
(FAO), available at: http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/dams/ (last access: 4 December 2018), 2016.
Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR): EuroGeoServeys
(EGS) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), International Hydrogeological Map of Europe 1:5 000 000
(IHME1500), Hannover, Germany, available at:
https://www.bgr.bund.de/ihme1500 (last access: 29 November 2018),
2008.
Fenicia, F., Savenije, H. H. G., Matgen, P., and Pfister, L.: Is the
groundwater reservoir linear? Learning from data in hydrological modelling,
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 10, 139–150,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-10-139-2006, 2006.
Fenicia, F., Kavetski, D., Savenije, H. H. G., Clark, M. P., Schoups, G.,
Pfister, L., and Freer, J.: Catchment properties, function, and conceptual
model representation: is there a correspondence?, Hydrol. Process., 28,
2451–2467, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9726, 2013.
Fister, V.: Dynamique des écoulements dans les aquifères calcaires de bas
plateaux: de l'identification à la quantification des types de
circulation. Exemple des formations triasiques et jurassiques dans le
Nord-Est de la France, PhD thesis, Université de Lorraine, Lorraine,
France, 2012.
Fovet, O., Ruiz, L., Hrachowitz, M., Faucheux, M., and Gascuel-Odoux, C.:
Hydrological hysteresis and its value for assessing process consistency in
catchment conceptual models, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 105–123,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-105-2015, 2015.
Frisbee, M. D., Phillips, F. M., Campbell, A. R., Liu, F., and Sanchez,
S. A.:
Streamflow generation in a large, alpine watershed in the southern Rocky
Mountains of Colorado: Is streamflow generation simply the aggregation of
hillslope runoff responses?, Water Resour. Res., 47, W06512, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009391, 2011.
Frisbee, M. D., Phillips, F. M., Weissmann, G. S., Brooks, P. D., Wilson,
J. L., Campbell, A. R., and Liu, F.: Unraveling the mysteries of the large
watershed black box: Implications for the streamflow response to climate and
landscape perturbations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L01404, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL050416, 2012.
Frisbee, M. D., Tysor, E. H., Stewart-Maddox, N. S., Tsinnajinnie, L. M.,
Wilson, J. L., Granger, D. E., and Newman, B. D.: Is there a geomorphic
expression of interbasin groundwater flow in watersheds? Interactions between
interbasin groundwater flow, springs, streams, and geomorphology, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 1158–1165, 2016.
Genereux, D. P. and Jordan, M.: Interbasin groundwater flow and groundwater
interaction with surface water in a lowland rainforest, Costa Rica: a review,
J. Hydrol., 320, 385–399, 2006.
Genereux, D. P., Wood, S. J., and Pringle, C. M.: Chemical tracing of
interbasin groundwater transfer in the lowland rainforest of Costa Rica,
J. Hydrol., 258, 163–178, 2002.
Genereux, D. P., Jordan, M. T., and Carbonell, D.: A paired-watershed budget
study to quantify interbasin groundwater flow in a lowland rain forest, Costa
Rica, Water Resour. Res., 41, W04011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004WR003635, 2005.
Gentine, P., D'Odorico, P., Lintner, B. R., Sivandran, G., and Salvucci, G.:
Interdependence of climate, soil, and vegetation as constrained by the Budyko
curve, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L19404, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL053492, 2012.
Gharari, S., Hrachowitz, M., Fenicia, F., and Savenije, H. H. G.:
Hydrological landscape classification: investigating the performance of HAND
based landscape classifications in a central European meso-scale catchment,
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 3275–3291,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-3275-2011, 2011.
Gleeson, T. and Manning, A. H.: Regional groundwater flow in mountainous
terrain: Three-dimensional simulations of topographic and hydrogeologic
controls, Water Resour. Res., 44, W10403, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR006848, 2008.
Goswami, M. and O'Connor, K. M.: A “monster” that made the SMAR conceptual
model “right for the wrong reasons”, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 55,
913–927, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2010.505170, 2010.
Goswami, M., O'Connor, K., and Bhattarai, K.: Development of regionalisation
procedures using a multi-model approach for flow simulation in an ungauged
catchment, J. Hydrol., 333, 517–531,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.09.018, 2007.
Hartmann, A., Goldscheider, N., Wagener, T., Lange, J., and Weiler, M.: Karst
water resources in a changing world: Review of hydrological modeling
approaches, Rev. Geophys., 52, 218–242, 2014.
Haylock, M. R., Hofstra, N., Klein Tank, A. M. G., Klok, E. J., Jones, P. D.,
and New, M.: A European daily high-resolution gridded data set of surface
temperature and precipitation for 1950–2006, J. Geophys. Res., 113,
D20119, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010201, 2008.
Hooghart, J. and Lablans, W.: Van Penman naar Makkink: een nieuwe
berekeningswijze voor de klimatologische verdampingsgetallen, De Bilt, Royal
Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands, 1988.
Hrachowitz, M., Fovet, O., Ruiz, L., Euser, T., Gharari, S., Nijzink, R.,
Freer, J., Savenije, H. H. G., and Gascuel-Odoux, C.: Process consistency in
models: The importance of system signatures, expert knowledge, and process
complexity, Water Resour. Res., 50, 7445–7469, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR015484,
2014.
Lebecherel, L., Andréassian, V., and Perrin, C.: On regionalizing the
Turc-Mezentsev water balance formula, Water Resour. Res., 49,
7508–7517, 2013.
Le Moine, N.: Le bassin versant de surface vu par le souterrain: une voie
d'amélioration des performances et du réalisme des modèles
pluie-débit ?, PhD thesis, CEMAGREF, UR HBAN, Antony, France, 2008.
Le Moine, N., Andréassian, V., Perrin, C., and Michel, C.: How can
rainfall-runoff models handle intercatchment groundwater flows? Theoretical
study based on 1040 French catchments, Water Resour. Res., 43, W06428, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006WR005608, 2007.
Le Moine, N., Andréassian, V., and Mathevet, T.: Confronting surface-and
groundwater balances on the La Rochefoucauld-Touvre karstic system (Charente,
France), Water Resour. Res., 44, W03403, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR005984, 2008.
Li, H.-Y., Sivapalan, M., Tian, F., and Harman, C.: Functional approach to
exploring climatic and landscape controls of runoff generation: 1. Behavioral
constraints on runoff volume, Water Resour. Res., 50, 9300–9322, 2014.
Martens, B., Miralles, D. G., Lievens, H., van der Schalie, R., de Jeu, R. A.
M., Fernández-Prieto, D., Beck, H. E., Dorigo, W. A., and Verhoest, N. E.
C.: GLEAM v3: satellite-based land evaporation and root-zone soil moisture,
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 1903–1925, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-1903-2017,
2017.
Martin, P. and Zany, D.: Géologie de la Lorraine, Les pertes de l'Aroffe,
available at: http://www4.ac-nancy-metz.fr/base-geol/fiche.php?dossier=167&p=3descrip (last access: 29 November 2018), 2012a.
Martin, P. and Zany, D.: Géologie de la Lorraine. Pertes de la Meuse,
available at: http://www4.ac-nancy-metz.fr/base-geol/fiche.php?dossier=157&p=3descrip (last access: 29 November 2018),
2012b.
Mezentsev, V.: Back to the computation of total evaporation, Meteorologia i
Gidrologia, 5, 24–26, 1955.
Miralles, D. G., Holmes, T. R. H., De Jeu, R. A. M., Gash, J. H., Meesters,
A. G. C. A., and Dolman, A. J.: Global land-surface evaporation estimated
from satellite-based observations, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 453–469,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-453-2011, 2011.
Mouelhi, S., Michel, C., Perrin, C., and Andréassian, V.: Stepwise
development of a two-parameter monthly water balance model, J. Hydrol., 318, 200–214, 2006.
Newman, B.: The lazy Meuse, Jenkins, London, 1949.
Nielsen, S. and Hansen, E.: Numerical simulation of the rainfall runoff
process
on a daily basis, Nord. Hydrol., 4, 171–190, 1973.
Perrin, C., Michel, C., and Andréassian, V.: Improvement of a parsimonious
model for streamflow simulation, J Hydrol., 279, 275–289,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(03)00225-7, 2003.
Rauthe, M., Steiner, H., Riediger, U., Mazurkiewicz, A., and Gratzki, A.: A
Central European precipitation climatology – Part I: Generation and validation
of a high-resolution gridded daily data set (HYRAS), Meteorol. Z., 22, 235–256, 2013.
Reggiani, P. and Rientjes, T.: Closing horizontal groundwater fluxes with
pipe
network analysis: An application of the REW approach to an aquifer,
Environ. Modell. Softw., 25, 1702–1712, 2010.
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute:
http://www.knmi.nl/nederland-nu/klimatologie/uurgegevens, last access:
13 July 2017.
Samaniego, L., Kumar, R., and Jackisch, C.: Predictions in a data-sparse
region
using a regionalized grid-based hydrologic model driven by remotely sensed
data, Hydrol. Res., 42, 338–355, 2011.
Schaller, M. F. and Fan, Y.: River basins as groundwater exporters and
importers: Implications for water cycle and climate modeling, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D04103, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010636., 2009.
Service Public de Wallonie: Direction générale opérationnelle de la
Mobilité et des Voies hydrauliques, Département des Etudes et de l'Appui
à la Gestion, Direction de la Gestion hydrologique intégrée, Bld du
Nord 8-5000 Namur, Belgium, 2017.
Tóth, J.: A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage
basins, J. Geophys. Res., 68, 4795–4812, 1963.
Trigo, I. F., Dacamara, C. C., Viterbo, P., Roujean, J.-L., Olesen, F.,
Barroso, C., Camacho-de Coca, F., Carrer, D., Freitas, S. C., García-Haro,
J., Geiger, B., Gellens-Meulenberghs, F., Ghilain, N., Meliá, J., Pessanha, L., Siljamo, N., and Arboleda,
A.: The satellite application facility for land surface analysis,
Int. J. Remote Sens., 32, 2725–2744, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161003743199, 2011.
Turc, L.: Le bilan d'eau des sols. Relations entre les précipitations,
l'évaporation et l'écoulement, Ann. Agron., 5, 491–596, 1954.
van Osnabrugge, B., Weerts, A., and Uijlenhoet, R.: genRE: A Method to Extend
Gridded Precipitation Climatology Data Sets in Near Real-Time for
Hydrological Forecasting Purposes, Water Resour. Res., 53, 9284–9303,
2017.
Velde, Y., Vercauteren, N., Jaramillo, F., Dekker, S. C., Destouni, G., and
Lyon, S. W.: Exploring hydroclimatic change disparity via the Budyko
framework, Hydrol. Process., 28, 4110–4118, 2014.
Wagener, T., Boyle, D. P., Lees, M. J., Wheater, H. S., Gupta, H. V., and
Sorooshian, S.: A framework for development and application of hydrological
models, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 5, 13–26,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-5-13-2001, 2001.
Welch, L. and Allen, D.: Consistency of groundwater flow patterns in
mountainous topography: Implications for valley bottom water replenishment
and for defining groundwater flow boundaries, Water Resour. Res., 48,
W05526, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR010901, 2012.
Willems, P.: Parsimonious rainfall-runoff model construction supported by
time series processing and validation of hydrological extremes – Part 1:
Step-wise model-structure identification and calibration approach, J. Hydrol., 510, 578–590, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.01.017, 2014.
Zhang, G. P. and Savenije, H. H. G.: Rainfall-runoff modelling in a catchment
with a complex groundwater flow system: application of the Representative
Elementary Watershed (REW) approach, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 9, 243–261,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-9-243-2005, 2005.
Zhang, G., Fenicia, F., Rientjes, T., Reggiani, P., and Savenije, H.:
Modeling
runoff generation in the Geer river basin with improved model
parameterizations to the REW approach, Phys. Chem. Earth Pt. A/B/C, 30, 285–296, 2005.
Short summary
We quantify net intercatchment groundwater flows in the Meuse basin in a complementary three-step approach through (1) water budget accounting, (2) testing a set of conceptual hydrological models and (3) evaluating against remote sensing actual evaporation data. We show that net intercatchment groundwater flows can make up as much as 25 % of mean annual precipitation in the headwaters and should therefore be accounted for in conceptual models to prevent overestimating actual evaporation rates.
We quantify net intercatchment groundwater flows in the Meuse basin in a complementary...
