Articles | Volume 24, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2527-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2527-2020
Research article
 | 
14 May 2020
Research article |  | 14 May 2020

Evaluation of the ERA5 reanalysis as a potential reference dataset for hydrological modelling over North America

Mostafa Tarek, François P. Brissette, and Richard Arsenault

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Cited articles

Albergel, C., Dutra, E., Munier, S., Calvet, J.-C., Munoz-Sabater, J., de Rosnay, P., and Balsamo, G.: ERA-5 and ERA-Interim driven ISBA land surface model simulations: which one performs better?, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3515–3532, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3515-2018, 2018. 
Arsenault, R., Poulin, A., Côté, P., and Brissette, F.: Comparison of stochastic optimization algorithms in hydrological model calibration, J. Hydrol. Eng., 19, 1374–1384, 2013. 
Arsenault, R., Gatien, P., Renaud, B., Brissette, F., and Martel, J. L.: A comparative analysis of 9 multi-model averaging approaches in hydrological continuous streamflow simulation, J. Hydrol., 529, 754–767, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.09.001, 2015. 
Arsenault, R., Bazile, R., Ouellet Dallaire, C., and Brissette, F.: CANOPEX: A Canadian hydrometeorological watershed database, Hydrol. Process., 30, 2734–2736, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10880, 2016 (data available at: http://canopex.etsmtl.net/, last access: December, 2010). 
Arsenault, R., Brissette, F., and Martel, J.-L.: The hazards of split-sample validation in hydrological model calibration, J. Hydrol., 566, 346–362, 2018. 
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Short summary
The ERA5 reanalysis dataset is characterized by its high spatial (0.25) and temporal (hourly) resolutions and has therefore a large potential to drive environmental models in regions where the network of stations is deficient. ERA5 performance is evaluated on 3138 North American catchments. Results indicate that for hydrological modelling, ERA5 precipitation and temperature are just as good as observation all over North America, with the exception of the eastern half of the US.