Articles | Volume 27, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2397-2023
© Author(s) 2023. 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-27-2397-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
03 Jul 2023
Research article |
| 03 Jul 2023
| 03 Jul 2023
When best is the enemy of good – critical evaluation of performance criteria in hydrological models
Guillaume Cinkus
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
HydroSciences Montpellier (HSM), CNRS, IRD, Univ. Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
Naomi Mazzilli
UMR 1114 EMMAH (AU-INRAE), Université d'Avignon, 84000 Avignon,
France
Hervé Jourde
HydroSciences Montpellier (HSM), CNRS, IRD, Univ. Montpellier, 34090 Montpellier, France
Andreas Wunsch
Institute of Applied Geosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Tanja Liesch
Institute of Applied Geosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Nataša Ravbar
Karst Research Institute, ZRC SAZU, Titov trg 2, 6230 Postojna,
Slovenia
Zhao Chen
Institute of Groundwater Management, Technical University of Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
Nico Goldscheider
Institute of Applied Geosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
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11 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Karst aquifer discharge response to rainfall interpreted as anomalous transport D. Elhanati et al. 10.5194/hess-28-4239-2024
- Potential of snow data to improve the consistency and robustness of a semi-distributed hydrological model using the SAFRAN input dataset D. Ruelland 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130820
- SEAWAT Scenarios Evaluating Links between the Southern Gabès (TN) Confined Aquifer and the Mediterranean Sea K. Wederni et al. 10.3390/w16192865
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- Beyond a fixed number: Investigating uncertainty in popular evaluation metrics of ensemble flood modeling using bootstrapping analysis T. Huang & V. Merwade 10.1111/jfr3.12982
- A parsimonious model for springs discharge reconstruction and forecast for drought management: Lessons from a case study in Central Italy N. Guyennon et al. 10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.102021
- Improvement of the KarstMod modelling platform for a better assessment of karst groundwater resources V. Sivelle et al. 10.5194/hess-29-1259-2025
- Impact of Hydroclimatic Changes on Water Security in the Cantareira Water Production System, Brazil J. Tercini & A. Mello Júnior 10.3390/atmos14121836
- Machine learning approaches coupled with variational mode decomposition: a novel method for forecasting monthly reservoir inflows F. Ahmadi et al. 10.1007/s12145-023-01186-2
- Performance and projections of the NEX‐GDDP‐CMIP6 in simulating precipitation in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado biomes L. de Mendonça et al. 10.1002/joc.8547
- Beyond streamflow: Plausible hydrological modelling for the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia A. Mohamed et al. 10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102290
Latest update: 01 Apr 2025
Short summary
The Kling–Gupta Efficiency (KGE) is a performance criterion extensively used to evaluate hydrological models. We conduct a critical study on the KGE and its variant to examine counterbalancing errors. Results show that, when assessing a simulation, concurrent over- and underestimation of discharge can lead to an overall higher criterion score without an associated increase in model relevance. We suggest that one carefully choose performance criteria and use scaling factors.
The Kling–Gupta Efficiency (KGE) is a performance criterion extensively used to evaluate...
