Articles | Volume 24, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4441-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4441-2020
Research article
 | 
15 Sep 2020
Research article |  | 15 Sep 2020

Assessing the degree of detail of temperature-based snow routines for runoff modelling in mountainous areas in central Europe

Marc Girons Lopez, Marc J. P. Vis, Michal Jenicek, Nena Griessinger, and Jan Seibert

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Cited articles

Avanzi, F., De Michele, C., Morin, S., Carmagnola, C. M., Ghezzi, A., and Lejeune, Y.: Model complexity and data requirements in snow hydrology: seeking a balance in practical applications, Hydrol. Process., 30, 2106–2118, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10782, 2016. 
Barnett, T. P., Adam, J. C., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions, Nature, 438, 303–309, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04141, 2005. 
Berghuijs, W. R., Woods, R. A., and Hrachowitz, M.: A precipitation shift from snow towards rain leads to a decrease in streamflow-supplement, Nat. Clim. Change, 4, 583–586, https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE2246, 2014. 
Bergström, S.: The HBV Model, in Computer Models of Watershed Hydrology, in: Water Resources Publications, edited by: Singh, V. P., Highlands Ranch, CO, 443–476, 1995. 
Bergström, S.: Experience from applications of the HBV hydrological model from the perspective of prediction in ungauged basins, IAHS Publ., 307, 97–107, 2006. 
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Short summary
Snow processes are crucial for runoff in mountainous areas, but their complexity makes water management difficult. Temperature models are widely used as they are simple and do not require much data, but not much thought is usually given to which model to use, which may lead to bad predictions. We studied the impact of many model alternatives and found that a more complex model does not necessarily perform better. Finding which processes are most important in each area is a much better strategy.
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