Articles | Volume 25, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-147-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-147-2021
Research article
 | 
07 Jan 2021
Research article |  | 07 Jan 2021

The role and value of distributed precipitation data in hydrological models

Ralf Loritz, Markus Hrachowitz, Malte Neuper, and Erwin Zehe

Related authors

Technical note: An approach for handling multiple temporal frequencies with different input dimensions using a single LSTM cell
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
How well do hydrological models learn from limited discharge data? A comparison of process- and data-driven models
Maria Staudinger, Anna Herzog, Ralf Loritz, Tobias Houska, Sandra Pool, Diana Spieler, Paul D. Wagner, Juliane Mai, Jens Kiesel, Stephan Thober, Björn Guse, and Uwe Ehret
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1076,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1076, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Analyzing the generalization capabilities of a hybrid hydrological model for extrapolation to extreme events
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
Unveiling the Limits of Deep Learning Models in Hydrological Extrapolation Tasks
Sanika Baste, Daniel Klotz, Eduardo Acuña Espinoza, Andras Bardossy, and Ralf Loritz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-425,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-425, 2025
Short summary
Can discharge be used to inversely correct precipitation?
Ashish Manoj J, Ralf Loritz, Hoshin Gupta, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-375,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-375, 2024
Revised manuscript under review for HESS
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Catchment hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Modelling approaches
Technical note: What does the Standardized Streamflow Index actually reflect? Insights and implications for hydrological drought analysis
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
Long short-term memory networks for enhancing real-time flood forecasts: a case study for an underperforming hydrologic model
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
Assessing the value of high-resolution rainfall and streamflow data for hydrological modeling: an analysis based on 63 catchments in southeast China
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
Catchments do not strictly follow Budyko curves over multiple decades, but deviations are minor and predictable
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
Scale dependency in modeling nivo-glacial hydrological systems: the case of the Arolla basin, Switzerland
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

Cited articles

Berger, M. J. and Oliger, J.: Adaptive mesh refinement for hyperbolic partial differential equations, J. Comput. Phys., 53, 484–512, https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9991(84)90073-1, 1984. 
Berkowitz, B. and Zehe, E.: Surface water and groundwater: Unifying conceptualization and quantification of the two “water worlds”, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1831–1858, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1831-2020, 2020. 
Beven, K.: Changing ideas in hydrology – The case of physically-based models, J. Hydrol., 105, 157–172, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(89)90101-7, 1989. 
Beven, K.: Prophecy, reality and uncertainty in distributed hydrological modelling, Adv. Water Resour., 16, 41–51, https://doi.org/10.1016/0309-1708(93)90028-E, 1993. 
Beven, K.: Dalton Lecture: How Far Can We Go In Distributed Hydrological Modelling?, Lancaster University, Long Beach, California, 1–12, available at: http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/4420/ (last access: 15 June 2020), 2001. 
Download
Short summary
This study investigates the role and value of distributed rainfall in the runoff generation of a mesoscale catchment. We compare the performance of different hydrological models at different periods and show that a distributed model driven by distributed rainfall yields improved performances only during certain periods. We then step beyond this finding and develop a spatially adaptive model that is capable of dynamically adjusting its spatial model structure in time.
Share