Articles | Volume 28, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-945-2024
© Author(s) 2024. 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-28-945-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Toward interpretable LSTM-based modeling of hydrological systems
Luis Andres De la Fuente
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, United States
Mohammad Reza Ehsani
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, United States
Hoshin Vijai Gupta
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, United States
Laura Elizabeth Condon
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, United States
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Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 23 Jul 2026
Short summary
Long short-term memory (LSTM) is a widely used machine-learning model in hydrology, but it is difficult to extract knowledge from it. We propose HydroLSTM, which represents processes like a hydrological reservoir. Models based on HydroLSTM perform similarly to LSTM while requiring fewer cell states. The learned parameters are informative about the dominant hydrology of a catchment. Our results show how parsimony and hydrological knowledge extraction can be achieved by using the new structure.
Long short-term memory (LSTM) is a widely used machine-learning model in hydrology, but it is...