Articles | Volume 27, issue 24
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4385-2023
© 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-27-4385-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Dec 2023
Research article |
| 14 Dec 2023
| 14 Dec 2023
Towards robust seasonal streamflow forecasts in mountainous catchments: impact of calibration metric selection in hydrological modeling
Diego Araya
Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Advanced Mining Technology Center, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Eduardo Muñoz-Castro
Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
James McPhee
Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Advanced Mining Technology Center, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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Millie C. Spencer, Alfonso Fernandez, Emma Tyrrell, Robert Clasing, Enrique Muñoz, Pablo A. Mendoza, Jorge Berkhoff, and Noah P. Molotch
The Cryosphere, 20, 5559–5583, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5559-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5559-2026, 2026
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Mountain glaciers are important freshwater reservoirs. Quantifying their loss is essential for forecasting water availability. While glacier retreat is well studied in many regions, glacier loss on the Nevados de Chillán volcanic complex in south-central Chile remains uncertain. Using satellite and drone images, we find all 28 glaciers on Nevados de Chillán lost volume over the past 7 decades, with melt rates accelerating markedly since 2000.
Alexis Caro, Javier Medina, Freddy Saavedra, Fernando Gimeno, Jorge Huenante, Mariano Masiokas, Cristian Orrego, Ana Hernández, James McPhee, Pierre Pitte, Sebastián Krogh, David Farías-Barahona, Nevenka Bulovic, Iñigo Irarrázaval, Shelley MacDonell, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, and Carlos Romero
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 7097–7123, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-7097-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-7097-2026, 2026
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Snowpack dynamics in the Southern Andes remain poorly quantified due to sparse and inconsistent in situ data, limiting hydrological modeling. We compile and quality-control daily snow depth observations from 81 stations (21–54° S, 2010–2024). The resulting dataset improves the Physical Consistency Index (up to 95 %) despite reduced data availability, reveals a north–south increase in snow depth but no consistent positive relationship with elevation across river basins.
Jerónimo Sota, Pablo A. Mendoza, and Miguel Lagos-Zúñiga
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4067, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4067, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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Despite snowmelt runoff from mountainous domains is a vital water source, river flows months ahead remain difficult to predict. This study tested several ways to improve dynamical forecasts across 21 Andean basins using nearly four decades of past data. Results show that some configurations improve forecasts only at specific times or in certain basins, while others can reduce accuracy. The results can help water managers choose more reliable forecasting tools for decision making.
Matías Moreno, Pablo Mendoza, Eduardo Muñoz-Castro, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, and Alonso Pizarro
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2912, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2912, 2026
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We developed a new method called SPEAK to better evaluate how well hydrological models reproduce spatial patterns such as evapotranspiration across different regions. We tested it in 99 Chilean catchments with different climates and terrain types. Compared with existing methods, SPEAK more accurately represented spatial patterns and was less affected by map resolution or catchment characteristics. This could help improve water resource modelling and planning across diverse local conditions.
Nicolás A. Vásquez, Pablo A. Mendoza, Wouter Knoben, Martyn Clark, Tricia Stadnyk, and Naoki Mizukami
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1363, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1363, 2026
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Although distributed hydrological models are often calibrated using only streamflow data, this practice may provide unrealistic representations of the water cycle. We show that, while streamflow annual cycles can be reasonably simulated, the seasonality of other key variables - such as evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and snow cover - may be severely misrepresented. Our results highlight the need to assess seasonal patterns of variables beyond streamflow when calibrating hydrological models.
Francesca Pellicciotti, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, David R. Rounce, Catriona L. Fyffe, Leif S. Anderson, Álvaro Ayala, Ben W. Brock, Pascal Buri, Stefan Fugger, Koji Fujita, Prateek Gantayat, Alexander R. Groos, Walter Immerzeel, Marin Kneib, Christoph Mayer, Shelley MacDonell, Michael McCarthy, James McPhee, Evan Miles, Heather Purdie, Ekaterina Rets, Akiko Sakai, Thomas E. Shaw, Jakob Steiner, Patrick Wagnon, and Alex Winter-Billington
The Cryosphere, 20, 1895–1928, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026, 2026
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Rock debris covers many of the world glaciers, modifying the transfer of atmospheric energy to the debris and into the ice. Models of different complexity simulate this process, and we compare 15 models at 9 sites to show that the most complex models at the debris-atmosphere interface have the highest performance. However, we lack debris properties and their derivation from measurements is ambiguous, hindering global modelling and calling for both model development and data collection.
Eduardo Muñoz-Castro, Bailey J. Anderson, Paul C. Astagneau, Daniel L. Swain, Pablo A. Mendoza, and Manuela I. Brunner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 825–848, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-825-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-825-2026, 2026
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Flood impacts can be enhanced when they occur after droughts, yet the effectiveness of hydrological models in simulating these events remains unclear. Here, we calibrated four conceptual hydrological models across 63 catchments in Chile and Switzerland to assess their ability to detect streamflow extremes and their transitions. We show that drought-to-flood transitions are generally poorly captured, especially in semi-arid high-mountain catchments than in humid low-elevation ones.
Bailey J. Anderson, Eduardo Muñoz-Castro, Lena M. Tallaksen, Alessia Matano, Jonas Götte, Rachael Armitage, Eugene Magee, and Manuela I. Brunner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 6069–6092, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6069-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6069-2025, 2025
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When floods happen during or shortly after droughts, the impacts of each of the events can be magnified. In hydrological research, defining these events represents a challenging and important task in the process of understanding where and why they occur. We have used real-word examples to address some of these challenges and show different approaches influence outcomes. We make suggestions on when to use which approach and outline some pitfalls of which researchers should be aware.
Sofía Segovia, Pablo A. Mendoza, Miguel Lagos-Zúñiga, Lucía Scaff, and Andreas Prein
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3061, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3061, 2025
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High-resolution climate simulations can improve our understanding of precipitation and temperature patterns in regions with complex terrain. We evaluate a new climate dataset against in-situ observations, and its potencial for hydrological modeling. Results show that, despite some limitations in dry areas, high-resolution climate models can provide information of a quality comparable to that of observation-based products, supporting their use in water resources planning and decision-making.
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
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Hydrological droughts affect ecosystems and socioeconomic activities worldwide. Despite the fact that they are commonly described with the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI), there is limited understanding of what they truly reflect in terms of water cycle processes. Here, we used state-of-the-art hydrological models in Andean basins to examine drivers of SSI fluctuations. The results highlight the importance of careful selection of indices and timescales for accurate drought characterization and monitoring.
Nicolás Cortés-Salazar, Nicolás Vásquez, Naoki Mizukami, Pablo A. Mendoza, and Ximena Vargas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3505–3524, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3505-2023, 2023
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This paper shows how important river models can be for water resource applications that involve hydrological models and, in particular, parameter calibration. To this end, we conduct numerical experiments in a pilot basin using a combination of hydrologic model simulations obtained from a large sample of parameter sets and different routing methods. We find that routing can affect streamflow simulations, even at monthly time steps; the choice of parameters; and relevant streamflow metrics.
Ulises M. Sepúlveda, Pablo A. Mendoza, Naoki Mizukami, and Andrew J. Newman
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3419–3445, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3419-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3419-2022, 2022
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This paper characterizes parameter sensitivities across more than 5500 grid cells for a commonly used macroscale hydrological model, including a suite of eight performance metrics and 43 soil, vegetation and snow parameters. The results show that the model is highly overparameterized and, more importantly, help to provide guidance on the most relevant parameters for specific target processes across diverse climatic types.
Oscar M. Baez-Villanueva, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, Pablo A. Mendoza, Ian McNamara, Hylke E. Beck, Joschka Thurner, Alexandra Nauditt, Lars Ribbe, and Nguyen Xuan Thinh
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5805–5837, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5805-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5805-2021, 2021
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Most rivers worldwide are ungauged, which hinders the sustainable management of water resources. Regionalisation methods use information from gauged rivers to estimate streamflow over ungauged ones. Through hydrological modelling, we assessed how the selection of precipitation products affects the performance of three regionalisation methods. We found that a precipitation product that provides the best results in hydrological modelling does not necessarily perform the best for regionalisation.
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Short summary
Dynamical systems are used by many agencies worldwide to produce seasonal streamflow forecasts, which are critical for decision-making. Such systems rely on hydrology models, which contain parameters that are typically estimated using a target performance metric (i.e., objective function). This study explores the effects of this decision across mountainous basins in Chile, illustrating tradeoffs between seasonal forecast quality and the models' capability to simulate streamflow characteristics.
Dynamical systems are used by many agencies worldwide to produce seasonal streamflow forecasts,...
