Articles | Volume 29, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1725-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-29-1725-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
26 Mar 2025
Research article |
| 26 Mar 2025
| 26 Mar 2025
Scale dependency in modeling nivo-glacial hydrological systems: the case of the Arolla basin, Switzerland
Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
Pascal Horton
Institute of Geography, and Oeschger Center on Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Bettina Schaefli
Institute of Geography, and Oeschger Center on Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Jamal Shokory
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Felix Pitscheider
Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
Leona Repnik
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Mattia Gianini
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Simone Bizzi
Department of Geosciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Stuart N. Lane
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Francesco Comiti
Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Related authors
Anne-Laure Argentin, Jörg Robl, Günther Prasicek, Stefan Hergarten, Daniel Hölbling, Lorena Abad, and Zahra Dabiri
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1615–1637, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1615-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1615-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study relies on topography to simulate the origin and displacement of potentially river-blocking landslides. It highlights a continuous range of simulated landslide dams that go unnoticed in the field due to their small scale. The computation results show that landslide-dammed lake volume can be estimated from upstream drainage area and landslide volume, thus enabling an efficient hazard assessment of possible landslide-dammed lake volume – and flooding magnitude in case of dam failure.
Jonas Paccolat, Pietro de Anna, Stuart Nicholas Lane, Hannes Markus Peter, and Tom Ian Battin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1664, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1664, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Short summary
With the retreat of glaciers, barren areas become prone to life settlement. Biofilms, surface attached colonies of microbes, are pioneer species which grow into millimeter thick mats in low flow streams. We studied how such bio-clogging enhance water availability on initially dry lateral terraces. Mat permeability was quantified from streamside flume experiments and an idealized terrace model was conceived to estimate stream elongation. A large effect is expected for permeable terraces.
Xinyang Fan, Florentin Hofmeister, Bettina Schaefli, and Gabriele Chiogna
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1500, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1500, 2025
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
We adopt a fully-distributed, physics-based hydrological modeling approach, to understand streamflow variations and their interactions with groundwater in a high-elevation glaciated environment. We demonstrate opportunities and challenges of integrating point-scale groundwater observations into a distributed model. This study sheds new lights on surface-subsurface processes in high alpine environments and highlights the importance of improving subsurface representation in hydrological modeling.
Malve Heinz, Maria Eliza Turek, Bettina Schaefli, Andreas Keiser, and Annelie Holzkämper
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1807–1827, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1807-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1807-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Potato farmers in Switzerland are facing drier conditions and water restrictions. We explored how improving soil health and planting early-maturing potato varieties might help them to adapt. Using a computer model, we simulated potato yields and irrigation water needs under water scarcity. Our results show that earlier-maturing potato varieties reduce the reliance on irrigation but result in lower yields. However, improving soil health can significantly reduce yield losses.
Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, Bettina Schaefli, Ross Woods, and Joshua R. Larsen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1214, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1214, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Investigating changing snow in response to global warming can be done with a simple model and only temperature and precipitation data, simplifying snow dynamics with assumptions and parameters. We provide a large-scale and long-term evaluation of this approach and its performance across diverse climates. Temperature thresholds are more robust over cold climates but melt parameters are more robust over warmer climates with deep snow. The model performs well across climates despite its simplicity.
David Dorthe, Michael Pfister, and Stuart N. Lane
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-599, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-599, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores how climate change affects river temperatures under hydropower influence using numerical modeling. While average warming is similar to natural rivers, hydropower both increases vulnerability in low-flow areas and helps limit extreme temperatures through cold lake releases in summer. This research helps adapt hydropower production to protect aquatic species in a changing climate.
Tom Müller, Mauro Fischer, Stuart N. Lane, and Bettina Schaefli
The Cryosphere, 19, 423–458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-423-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-423-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Based on extensive field observations in a highly glacierized catchment in the Swiss Alps, we develop a combined isotopic and glacio-hydrological model. We show that water stable isotopes may help to better constrain model parameters, especially those linked to water transfer. However, we highlight that separating snow and ice melt for temperate glaciers based on isotope mixing models alone is not advised and should only be considered if their isotopic signatures have clearly different values.
Moctar Dembélé, Mathieu Vrac, Natalie Ceperley, Sander J. Zwart, Josh Larsen, Simon J. Dadson, Grégoire Mariéthoz, and Bettina Schaefli
Proc. IAHS, 385, 121–127, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-385-121-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-385-121-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study assesses the impact of climate change on the timing, seasonality and magnitude of mean annual minimum (MAM) flows and annual maximum flows (AMF) in the Volta River basin (VRB). Several climate change projection data are use to simulate river flow under multiple greenhouse gas emission scenarios. Future projections show that AMF could increase with various magnitude but negligible shift in time across the VRB, while MAM could decrease with up to 14 days of delay in occurrence.
Tom Müller, Matteo Roncoroni, Davide Mancini, Stuart N. Lane, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 735–759, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-735-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-735-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the role of a newly formed floodplain in an alpine glaciated catchment to store and release water. Based on field measurements, we built a numerical model to simulate the water fluxes and show that recharge occurs mainly due to the ice-melt-fed river. We identify three future floodplains, which could emerge from glacier retreat, and show that their combined storage leads to some additional groundwater storage but contributes little additional baseflow for the downstream river.
Lindsay Marie Capito, Enrico Pandrin, Walter Bertoldi, Nicola Surian, and Simone Bizzi
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 321–345, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-321-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-321-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We propose that the pattern of erosion and deposition from repeat topographic surveys can be a proxy for path length in gravel-bed rivers. With laboratory and field data, we applied tools from signal processing to quantify this periodicity and used these path length estimates to calculate sediment transport using the morphological method. Our results highlight the potential to expand the use of the morphological method using only remotely sensed data as well as its limitations.
Marvin Höge, Martina Kauzlaric, Rosi Siber, Ursula Schönenberger, Pascal Horton, Jan Schwanbeck, Marius Günter Floriancic, Daniel Viviroli, Sibylle Wilhelm, Anna E. Sikorska-Senoner, Nans Addor, Manuela Brunner, Sandra Pool, Massimiliano Zappa, and Fabrizio Fenicia
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 5755–5784, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5755-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5755-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
CAMELS-CH is an open large-sample hydro-meteorological data set that covers 331 catchments in hydrologic Switzerland from 1 January 1981 to 31 December 2020. It comprises (a) daily data of river discharge and water level as well as meteorologic variables like precipitation and temperature; (b) yearly glacier and land cover data; (c) static attributes of, e.g, topography or human impact; and (d) catchment delineations. CAMELS-CH enables water and climate research and modeling at catchment level.
Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, Bettina Schaefli, Ross Woods, Adriaan J. Teuling, and Joshua R. Larsen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2577–2599, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2577-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2577-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We provide a dataset of snow water equivalent, the depth of liquid water that results from melting a given depth of snow. The dataset contains 11 071 sites over the Northern Hemisphere, spans the period 1950–2022, and is based on daily observations of snow depth on the ground and a model. The dataset fills a lack of accessible historical ground snow data, and it can be used for a variety of applications such as the impact of climate change on global and regional snow and water resources.
Alessio Gentile, Davide Canone, Natalie Ceperley, Davide Gisolo, Maurizio Previati, Giulia Zuecco, Bettina Schaefli, and Stefano Ferraris
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2301–2323, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2301-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2301-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
What drives young water fraction, F*yw (i.e., the fraction of water in streamflow younger than 2–3 months), variations with elevation? Why is F*yw counterintuitively low in high-elevation catchments, in spite of steeper topography? In this paper, we present a perceptual model explaining how the longer low-flow duration at high elevations, driven by the persistence of winter snowpacks, increases the proportion of stored (old) water contributing to the stream, thus reducing F*yw.
Anthony Michelon, Natalie Ceperley, Harsh Beria, Joshua Larsen, Torsten Vennemann, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1403–1430, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1403-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1403-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Streamflow generation processes in high-elevation catchments are largely influenced by snow accumulation and melt. For this work, we collected and analyzed more than 2800 water samples (temperature, electric conductivity, and stable isotopes of water) to characterize the hydrological processes in such a high Alpine environment. Our results underline the critical role of subsurface flow during all melt periods and the presence of snowmelt even during the winter periods.
Tom Müller, Stuart N. Lane, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6029–6054, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6029-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6029-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This research provides a comprehensive analysis of groundwater storage in Alpine glacier forefields, a zone rapidly evolving with glacier retreat. Based on data analysis of a case study, it provides a simple perceptual model showing where and how groundwater is stored and released in a high Alpine environment. It especially points out the presence of groundwater storages in both fluvial and bedrock aquifers, which may become more important with future glacier retreat.
Feiko Bernard van Zadelhoff, Adel Albaba, Denis Cohen, Chris Phillips, Bettina Schaefli, Luuk Dorren, and Massimiliano Schwarz
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2611–2635, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2611-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2611-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Shallow landslides pose a risk to people, property and infrastructure. Assessment of this hazard and the impact of protective measures can reduce losses. We developed a model (SlideforMAP) that can assess the shallow-landslide risk on a regional scale for specific rainfall events. Trees are an effective and cheap protective measure on a regional scale. Our model can assess their hazard reduction down to the individual tree level.
Alexandre Tuel, Bettina Schaefli, Jakob Zscheischler, and Olivia Martius
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2649–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2649-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2649-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
River discharge is strongly influenced by the temporal structure of precipitation. Here, we show how extreme precipitation events that occur a few days or weeks after a previous event have a larger effect on river discharge than events occurring in isolation. Windows of 2 weeks or less between events have the most impact. Similarly, periods of persistent high discharge tend to be associated with the occurrence of several extreme precipitation events in close succession.
Stefan Brönnimann, Peter Stucki, Jörg Franke, Veronika Valler, Yuri Brugnara, Ralf Hand, Laura C. Slivinski, Gilbert P. Compo, Prashant D. Sardeshmukh, Michel Lang, and Bettina Schaefli
Clim. Past, 18, 919–933, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-919-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-919-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Floods in Europe vary on time scales of several decades. Flood-rich and flood-poor periods alternate. Recently floods have again become more frequent. Long time series of peak stream flow, precipitation, and atmospheric variables reveal that until around 1980, these changes were mostly due to changes in atmospheric circulation. However, in recent decades the role of increasing atmospheric moisture due to climate warming has become more important and is now the main driver of flood changes.
Moctar Dembélé, Mathieu Vrac, Natalie Ceperley, Sander J. Zwart, Josh Larsen, Simon J. Dadson, Grégoire Mariéthoz, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1481–1506, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1481-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1481-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Climate change impacts on water resources in the Volta River basin are investigated under various global warming scenarios. Results reveal contrasting changes in future hydrological processes and water availability, depending on greenhouse gas emission scenarios, with implications for floods and drought occurrence over the 21st century. These findings provide insights for the elaboration of regional adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change.
Adrien Michel, Bettina Schaefli, Nander Wever, Harry Zekollari, Michael Lehning, and Hendrik Huwald
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1063–1087, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1063-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1063-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents an extensive study of climate change impacts on river temperature in Switzerland. Results show that, even for low-emission scenarios, water temperature increase will lead to adverse effects for both ecosystems and socio-economic sectors throughout the 21st century. For high-emission scenarios, the effect will worsen. This study also shows that water seasonal warming will be different between the Alpine regions and the lowlands. Finally, efficiency of models is assessed.
Anne-Laure Argentin, Jörg Robl, Günther Prasicek, Stefan Hergarten, Daniel Hölbling, Lorena Abad, and Zahra Dabiri
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1615–1637, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1615-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1615-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study relies on topography to simulate the origin and displacement of potentially river-blocking landslides. It highlights a continuous range of simulated landslide dams that go unnoticed in the field due to their small scale. The computation results show that landslide-dammed lake volume can be estimated from upstream drainage area and landslide volume, thus enabling an efficient hazard assessment of possible landslide-dammed lake volume – and flooding magnitude in case of dam failure.
Anthony Michelon, Lionel Benoit, Harsh Beria, Natalie Ceperley, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2301–2325, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2301-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2301-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Rainfall observation remains a challenge, particularly in mountain environments. Unlike most studies which are model based, this analysis of the rainfall–runoff response of a 13.4 km2 alpine catchment is purely data based and relies on measurements from a network of 12 low-cost rain gauges over 3 months. It assesses the importance of high-density rainfall observations in informing hydrological processes and helps in designing a permanent rain gauge network.
Elvira Mächler, Anham Salyani, Jean-Claude Walser, Annegret Larsen, Bettina Schaefli, Florian Altermatt, and Natalie Ceperley
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 735–753, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-735-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-735-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we collected water from an Alpine catchment in Switzerland and compared the genetic information of eukaryotic organisms conveyed by eDNA with the hydrologic information conveyed by naturally occurring hydrologic tracers. At the intersection of two disciplines, our study provides complementary knowledge gains and identifies the next steps to be addressed for using eDNA to achieve complementary insights into Alpine water sources.
Anna E. Sikorska-Senoner, Bettina Schaefli, and Jan Seibert
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3521–3549, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-3521-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20-3521-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This work proposes methods for reducing the computational requirements of hydrological simulations for the estimation of very rare floods that occur on average less than once in 1000 years. These methods enable the analysis of long streamflow time series (here for example 10 000 years) at low computational costs and with modelling uncertainty. They are to be used within continuous simulation frameworks with long input time series and are readily transferable to similar simulation tasks.
Moctar Dembélé, Bettina Schaefli, Nick van de Giesen, and Grégoire Mariéthoz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5379–5406, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5379-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study evaluates 102 combinations of rainfall and temperature datasets from satellite and reanalysis sources as input to a fully distributed hydrological model. The model is recalibrated for each input dataset, and the outputs are evaluated with streamflow, evaporation, soil moisture and terrestrial water storage data. Results show that no single rainfall or temperature dataset consistently ranks first in reproducing the spatio-temporal variability of all hydrological processes.
Harsh Beria, Joshua R. Larsen, Anthony Michelon, Natalie C. Ceperley, and Bettina Schaefli
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 2433–2450, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-2433-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-2433-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We develop a Bayesian mixing model to address the issue of small sample sizes to describe different sources in hydrological mixing applications. Using composite likelihood functions, the model accounts for an often overlooked bias arising due to unweighted mixing. We test the model efficacy using a series of statistical benchmarking tests and demonstrate its real-life applicability by applying it to a Swiss Alpine catchment to obtain the proportion of groundwater recharged from rain vs. snow.
Lucas Pfister, Stefan Brönnimann, Mikhaël Schwander, Francesco Alessandro Isotta, Pascal Horton, and Christian Rohr
Clim. Past, 16, 663–678, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-663-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-663-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper aims to reconstruct high-resolution daily precipitation and temperature fields for Switzerland back to 1864 using a statistical approach called the analogue resampling method. Results suggest that the presented method is suitable for weather reconstruction. As illustrated with the example of the avalanche in winter 1887/88, these weather reconstructions have great potential for various analyses of past weather and climate impact modelling.
Anthony Michelon, Lionel Benoit, Harsh Beria, Natalie Ceperley, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-683, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-683, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Rainfall observation remains a challenge particularly in mountain environments. Unlike most studies which are model based, this analysis of the rainfall-runoff response of a 13.4 km2 alpine catchment is purely data-based and rely on measures from a network of 12 low-cost raingauges over 3 months. It assesses the importance of high-density rainfall observations to inform hydrological processes and help to design a permanent raingauge network.
Adrien Michel, Tristan Brauchli, Michael Lehning, Bettina Schaefli, and Hendrik Huwald
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 115–142, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-115-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-115-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study constitutes the first comprehensive analysis of river
temperature in Switzerland combined with discharge and key meteorological variables, such as air temperature and precipitation. It is also the first study to discuss the large-scale seasonal behaviour of stream temperature in Switzerland. This research shows the clear increase of river temperature in Switzerland over the last few decades and may serve as a solid reference for future climate change scenario simulations.
Elvira Mächler, Anham Salyani, Jean-Claude Walser, Annegret Larsen, Bettina Schaefli, Florian Altermatt, and Natalie Ceperley
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-551, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-551, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
We explored what genetic material collected from water (eDNA) tells us about the flow of mountain streams, which are particularly valuable for habitat and water resources, but highly variable. We saw that when flow increased, more diverse eDNA was transported, especially in the main channel and tributaries. Whereas in the springs, we saw more diverse eDNA when the electrical conductivity of the water increased, likely indicating more underground surface contact.
Pascal Horton
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 2915–2940, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2915-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2915-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Analog methods rely on the principle that similar atmospheric situations are likely to result in a similar local effect, such as precipitation. By using archives of measured atmospheric parameters and observed precipitation, one can establish a probabilistic forecast, for example, of the precipitation for a chosen target day. Analog methods require low computing capacity and have demonstrated useful potential for application in both operational forecasting and the context of climate studies.
Ana Clara Santos, Maria Manuela Portela, Andrea Rinaldo, and Bettina Schaefli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2377–2389, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2377-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2377-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper assesses the performance of an analytical modeling framework for probability distributions for summer streamflow of 25 Swiss catchments that present a wide range of hydroclimatic regimes, including snow- and icemelt-influenced streamflows. Two versions of the model were tested: linear and nonlinear. The results show that the model performs well for summer discharges under all analyzed regimes and that model performance varies with mean catchment elevation.
Anna Costa, Peter Molnar, Laura Stutenbecker, Maarten Bakker, Tiago A. Silva, Fritz Schlunegger, Stuart N. Lane, Jean-Luc Loizeau, and Stéphanie Girardclos
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 509–528, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-509-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-509-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the signal of a warmer climate in the suspended-sediment dynamics of a regulated and human-impacted Alpine catchment. We demonstrate that temperature-driven enhanced melting of glaciers, which occurred in the mid-1980s, played a dominant role in suspended sediment concentration rise, through increased runoff from sediment-rich proglacial areas, increased contribution of sediment-rich meltwater, and increased sediment supply in proglacial areas due to glacier recession.
Pascal Horton, Charles Obled, and Michel Jaboyedoff
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3307–3323, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3307-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3307-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The analogue method aims at forecasting precipitation by means of a statistical relationship with meteorological variables at a large scale, such as the general atmospheric circulation. A moving time window has been introduced here in order to allow finding better analogue situations at different hours of the day. This change resulted in a better analogy of the atmospheric circulation, with improved prediction skills, and even to a greater extent for days with heavy precipitation.
A. Gallice, B. Schaefli, M. Lehning, M. B. Parlange, and H. Huwald
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 3727–3753, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3727-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3727-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a new model to estimate the monthly mean stream temperature of ungauged rivers over multiple years in an Alpine country. Contrary to the other approaches developed to date, which are usually based on standard regression techniques, our model makes use of the understanding that we have about the physics controlling stream temperature. On top of its accuracy being comparable to that of the other models, it can be used to gain some knowledge about the stream temperature dynamics
B. Schaefli, L. Nicótina, C. Imfeld, P. Da Ronco, E. Bertuzzo, and A. Rinaldo
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 2733–2746, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2733-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2733-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the Spatially Explicit Hydrologic Response of the Laboratory of Ecohydrology of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne for hydrologic simulation at the catchment scale. It simulates the mobilization of water at the subcatchment scale and the transport to the outlet through a convolution with the river network. We discuss the parameter estimation and model performance for discharge simulation in the high Alpine Dischmabach catchment (Switzerland).
S. N. Lane
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 927–952, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-927-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-927-2014, 2014
P. Horton, M. Jaboyedoff, B. Rudaz, and M. Zimmermann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 13, 869–885, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-869-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-13-869-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Catchment hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Modelling approaches
Merits and limits of SWAT-GL: application in contrasting glaciated catchments
Hydrological regime index for non-perennial rivers
Assessing the adequacy of traditional hydrological models for climate change impact studies: a case for long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks
Assessing the value of high-resolution data and parameter transferability across temporal scales in hydrological modeling: a case study in northern China
Technical note: How many models do we need to simulate hydrologic processes across large geographical domains?
CONCN: a high-resolution, integrated surface water–groundwater ParFlow modeling platform of continental China
Evaluating the effects of topography and land use change on hydrological signatures: a comparative study of two adjacent watersheds
Technical note: What does the Standardized Streamflow Index actually reflect? Insights and implications for hydrological drought analysis
Long short-term memory networks for enhancing real-time flood forecasts: a case study for an underperforming hydrologic model
Assessing the value of high-resolution rainfall and streamflow data for hydrological modeling: an analysis based on 63 catchments in southeast China
Catchments do not strictly follow Budyko curves over multiple decades, but deviations are minor and predictable
Extended-range forecasting of stream water temperature with deep-learning models
Technical note: An approach for handling multiple temporal frequencies with different input dimensions using a single LSTM cell
Enhanced Baseflow Separation in Rural Catchments: Event-Specific Calibration of Recursive Digital Filters with Tracer-Derived Data
Projections of streamflow intermittence under climate change in European drying river networks
Economic valuation of subsurface water contributions to watershed ecosystem services using a fully integrated groundwater–surface-water model
Analyzing the generalization capabilities of a hybrid hydrological model for extrapolation to extreme events
CH-RUN: a deep-learning-based spatially contiguous runoff reconstruction for Switzerland
Runoff component quantification and future streamflow projection in a large mountainous basin based on a multidata-constrained cryospheric–hydrological model
Multi-variable process-based calibration of a behavioural hydrological model
Exploring the potential processes controlling changes in precipitation–runoff relationships in non-stationary environments
A diversity-centric strategy for the selection of spatio-temporal training data for LSTM-based streamflow forecasting
Simulating the Tone River eastward diversion project in Japan carried out 4 centuries ago
Lack of robustness of hydrological models: a large-sample diagnosis and an attempt to identify hydrological and climatic drivers
Achieving water budget closure through physical hydrological process modelling: insights from a large-sample study
Heavy-tailed flood peak distributions: what is the effect of the spatial variability of rainfall and runoff generation?
A Distributed Hybrid Physics-AI Framework for Learning Corrections of Internal Hydrological Fluxes and Enhancing High-Resolution Regionalized Flood Modeling
Combining uncertainty quantification and entropy-inspired concepts into a single objective function for rainfall-runoff model calibration
State updating of the Xin'anjiang model: joint assimilating streamflow and multi-source soil moisture data via the asynchronous ensemble Kalman filter with enhanced error models
Improving the hydrological consistency of a process-based solute-transport model by simultaneous calibration of streamflow and stream concentrations
Understanding the relationship between streamflow forecast skill and value across the western US
Leveraging soil diversity to mitigate hydrological extremes with nature-based solutions in productive catchments
Leveraging a time-series event separation method to disentangle time-varying hydrologic controls on streamflow – application to wildfire-affected catchments
The significance of the leaf area index for evapotranspiration estimation in SWAT-T for characteristic land cover types of West Africa
Improved representation of soil moisture processes through incorporation of cosmic-ray neutron count measurements in a large-scale hydrologic model
Spatio-temporal patterns and trends of streamflow in water-scarce Mediterranean basins
A large-sample modelling approach towards integrating streamflow and evaporation data for the Spanish catchments
Seasonal variation in land cover estimates reveals sensitivities and opportunities for environmental models
Soil moisture and precipitation intensity control the transit time distribution of quick flow in a flashy headwater catchment
Estimating response times, flow velocities, and roughness coefficients of Canadian Prairie basins
Learning landscape features from streamflow with autoencoders
The influence of lateral flow on land surface fluxes in southeast Australia varies with model resolution
Constraining pesticide degradation in conceptual distributed catchment models with compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA)
On the use of streamflow transformations for hydrological model calibration
Unveiling the Impact of Potential Evapotranspiration Method Selection on Trends in Hydrological Cycle Components Across Europe
Simulation-based inference for parameter estimation of complex watershed simulators
Comparative Hydrological Modeling of Snow-Cover and Frozen Ground Impacts Under Topographically Complex Conditions
Multi-scale soil moisture data and process-based modeling reveal the importance of lateral groundwater flow in a subarctic catchment
Catchment response to climatic variability: implications for root zone storage and streamflow predictions
Hybrid hydrological modeling for large alpine basins: a semi-distributed approach
Timo Schaffhauser, Florentin Hofmeister, Gabriele Chiogna, Fabian Merk, Ye Tuo, Julian Machnitzke, Lucas Alcamo, Jingshui Huang, and Markus Disse
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3227–3256, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3227-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3227-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The glacier-expanded SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) version, SWAT-GL, was tested in four different catchments, highlighting the capabilities of the glacier routine. It was evaluated based on the representation of glacier mass balance, snow cover and glacier hypsometry. The glacier changes over a long timescale could be adequately represented, leading to promising potential future applications in glaciated and high mountain environments and significantly outperforming standard SWAT models.
Pablo Fernando Dornes and Rocío Noelia Comas
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2901–2923, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2901-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2901-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Desaguadero–Salado–Chadiluevú–Curacó (DSCC) River is a semiarid river which is heavily dammed at its tributaries which collect the snowmelt runoff. This runoff feeds mostly gravitational irrigation systems of very low efficiency. As a result, the DSCC River does not have natural runoff. The proposed hydrological regime index (HRI) is able to discriminate and quantify regime alterations under permanent and non-permanent flow conditions and with low- and high-impoundment conditions.
Jean-Luc Martel, François Brissette, Richard Arsenault, Richard Turcotte, Mariana Castañeda-Gonzalez, William Armstrong, Edouard Mailhot, Jasmine Pelletier-Dumont, Gabriel Rondeau-Genesse, and Louis-Philippe Caron
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2811–2836, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2811-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2811-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study compares long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks with traditional hydrological models to predict future streamflow under climate change. Using data from 148 catchments, it finds that LSTM models, which learn from extensive data sequences, perform differently and often better than traditional hydrological models. The continental LSTM model, which includes data from diverse climate zones, is particularly effective for understanding climate impacts on water resources.
Mahmut Tudaji, Yi Nan, and Fuqiang Tian
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2633–2654, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2633-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2633-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We assessed the value of high-resolution data and parameter transferability across temporal scales based on seven catchments in northern China. We found that higher-resolution data do not always improve model performance, questioning the need for such data. Model parameters are transferable across different data resolutions but not across computational time steps. It is recommended to utilize a smaller computational time step when building hydrological models even without high-resolution data.
Wouter J. M. Knoben, Ashwin Raman, Gaby J. Gründemann, Mukesh Kumar, Alain Pietroniro, Chaopeng Shen, Yalan Song, Cyril Thébault, Katie van Werkhoven, Andrew W. Wood, and Martyn P. Clark
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2361–2375, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2361-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2361-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrologic models are needed to provide simulations of water availability, floods, and droughts. The accuracy of these simulations is often quantified with so-called performance scores. A common thought is that different models are more or less applicable to different landscapes, depending on how the model works. We show that performance scores are not helpful in distinguishing between different models and thus cannot easily be used to select an appropriate model for a specific place.
Chen Yang, Zitong Jia, Wenjie Xu, Zhongwang Wei, Xiaolang Zhang, Yiguang Zou, Jeffrey McDonnell, Laura Condon, Yongjiu Dai, and Reed Maxwell
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2201–2218, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2201-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2201-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We developed the first high-resolution, integrated surface water–groundwater hydrologic model of the entirety of continental China using ParFlow. The model shows good performance in terms of streamflow and water table depth when compared to global data products and observations. It is essential for water resources management and decision-making in China within a consistent framework in the changing world. It also has significant implications for similar modeling in other places in the world.
Haifan Liu, Haochen Yan, and Mingfu Guan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2109–2132, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2109-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2109-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Land changes and landscape features critically impact water systems. Studying two watersheds in China’s Greater Bay Area, we found slope strongly influences water processes in mountainous areas. However, this relationship is weak in the lower regions of steeper watersheds. Urbanization leads to an increase in annual surface runoff, while flatter watersheds exhibit a buffering capacity against this effect. However, this buffering capacity diminishes with increasing annual rainfall intensity.
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
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Accurate early-warning systems are crucial for reducing the damage caused by flooding events. In this study, we explored the potential of long short-term memory networks for enhancing the forecast accuracy of hydrologic models employed in operational flood forecasting. The presented approach elevated the investigated hydrologic model’s forecast accuracy for further ahead predictions and at flood event runoff.
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
Short summary
Common intuition holds that higher input data resolution leads to better results. To assess the benefits of high-resolution data, we conduct simulation experiments using data with various temporal resolutions across multiple catchments and find that higher-resolution data do not always improve model performance, challenging the necessity of pursuing such data. In catchments with small areas or significant flow variability, high-resolution data is more valuable.
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
Short summary
The quantification of precipitation into evaporation and runoff is vital for water resources management. The Budyko framework, based on aridity and evaporative indices of a catchment, can be an ideal tool for that. However, recent research highlights deviations of catchments from the expected evaporative index, casting doubt on its reliability. This study quantifies deviations of 2387 catchments, finding them minor and predictable. Integrating these into predictions upholds the framework's efficacy.
Ryan S. Padrón, Massimiliano Zappa, Luzi Bernhard, and Konrad Bogner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1685–1702, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1685-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1685-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We generate operational forecasts of daily maximum stream water temperature for 32 consecutive days at 54 stations in Switzerland with our best-performing data-driven model. The average forecast error is 0.38 °C for 1 d ahead and increases to 0.90 °C for 32 d ahead given the uncertainty in the meteorological variables influencing water temperature. Here we compare the skill of several models, how well they can forecast at new and ungauged stations, and the importance of different model inputs.
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
Short summary
Long short-term memory (LSTM) networks have demonstrated state-of-the-art performance for rainfall-runoff hydrological modelling. However, most studies focus on predictions at a daily scale, limiting the benefits of sub-daily (e.g. hourly) predictions in applications like flood forecasting. In this study, we introduce a new architecture, multi-frequency LSTM (MF-LSTM), designed to use inputs of various temporal frequencies to produce sub-daily (e.g. hourly) predictions at a moderate computational cost.
Fernanda Helfer, Felipe Bernardi, Claudia Alessandra Peixoto de Barros, Daniel Gustavo Allasia, Jean Paolo Gomes Minella, Rutinéia Tassi, and Néverton Scariot
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-244, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-244, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We explored how water flows in small rural streams to improve tools for better managing water resources. Using a new method, we adjusted existing models to consider the size of rainfall events, showing that water movement patterns change depending on the rain’s intensity. This approach makes predictions more accurate and helps scientists and managers understand water availability and protect ecosystems.
Louise Mimeau, Annika Künne, Alexandre Devers, Flora Branger, Sven Kralisch, Claire Lauvernet, Jean-Philippe Vidal, Núria Bonada, Zoltán Csabai, Heikki Mykrä, Petr Pařil, Luka Polović, and Thibault Datry
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1615–1636, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1615-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1615-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study projects how climate change will affect the drying of river segments and stream networks in Europe, using advanced modelling techniques to assess changes in six river networks across diverse ecoregions. We found that drying events will become more frequent and intense and will start earlier or last longer, potentially turning some river sections from perennial to intermittent. The results are valuable for river ecologists for evaluating the ecological health of river ecosystem.
Tariq Aziz, Steven K. Frey, David R. Lapen, Susan Preston, Hazen A. J. Russell, Omar Khader, Andre R. Erler, and Edward A. Sudicky
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1549–1568, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1549-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1549-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study determines the value of subsurface water for ecosystem services' supply in an agricultural watershed in Ontario, Canada. Using a fully integrated water model and an economic valuation approach, the research highlights subsurface water's critical role in maintaining watershed ecosystem services. The study informs on the sustainable use of subsurface water and introduces a new method for managing watershed ecosystem services.
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
Short summary
Data-driven techniques have shown the potential to outperform process-based models in rainfall–runoff simulations. Hybrid models, combining both approaches, aim to enhance accuracy and maintain interpretability. Expanding the set of test cases to evaluate hybrid models under different conditions, we test their generalization capabilities for extreme hydrological events.
Basil Kraft, Michael Schirmer, William H. Aeberhard, Massimiliano Zappa, Sonia I. Seneviratne, and Lukas Gudmundsson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1061–1082, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1061-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1061-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study reconstructs daily runoff in Switzerland (1962–2023) using a deep-learning model, providing a spatially contiguous dataset on a medium-sized catchment grid. The model outperforms traditional hydrological methods, revealing shifts in Swiss water resources, including more frequent dry years and declining summer runoff. The reconstruction is publicly available.
Mengjiao Zhang, Yi Nan, and Fuqiang Tian
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1033–1060, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1033-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1033-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Owing to differences in the existing published results, we conducted a detailed analysis of the runoff components and future trends in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin and found that the contributions of snowmelt and glacier melt runoff to streamflow (both ~5 %) are limited and much lower than previous results. The streamflow in this area will continuously increase in the future, but the overestimated contribution of glacier melt could lead to an underestimation of this increasing trend.
Moritz Maximilian Heuer, Hadysa Mohajerani, and Markus Christian Casper
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-636, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-636, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a calibration approach for water balance models. The different calibration steps aim at calibrating different hydrological processes: evapotranspiration, the runoff partitioning into surface runoff, interflow and groundwater recharge, as well as the groundwater behaviour. This allows for selection of a model parameterisation that correctly predicts the discharge at catchment outlet and simultaneously correctly depicts the underlying hydrological processes.
Tian Lan, Tongfang Li, Hongbo Zhang, Jiefeng Wu, Yongqin David Chen, and Chong-Yu Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 903–924, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-903-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-903-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study develops an integrated framework based on the novel Driving index for changes in Precipitation–Runoff Relationships (DPRR) to explore the controlling changes in precipitation–runoff relationships in non-stationary environments. According to the quantitative results of the candidate driving factors, the possible process explanations for changes in the precipitation–runoff relationships are deduced. The main contribution offers a comprehensive understanding of hydrological processes.
Everett Snieder and Usman T. Khan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 785–798, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-785-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-785-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Improving the accuracy of flood forecasts is paramount to minimising flood damage. Machine learning (ML) models are increasingly being applied for flood forecasting. Such models are typically trained on large historic hydrometeorological datasets. In this work, we evaluate methods for selecting training datasets that maximise the spatio-temporal diversity of the represented hydrological processes. Empirical results showcase the importance of hydrological diversity in training ML models.
Joško Trošelj and Naota Hanasaki
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 753–766, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-753-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-753-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the first distributed hydrological simulation which confirms claims raised by historians that the eastward diversion project of the Tone River in Japan was conducted 4 centuries ago to increase low flows and subsequent travelling possibilities surrounding the capital, Edo (Tokyo), using inland navigation. We showed that great steps forward can be made for improving quality of life with small human engineering waterworks and small interventions in the regime of natural flows.
Léonard Santos, Vazken Andréassian, Torben O. Sonnenborg, Göran Lindström, Alban de Lavenne, Charles Perrin, Lila Collet, and Guillaume Thirel
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 683–700, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-683-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-683-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This work investigates how hydrological models are transferred to a period in which climate conditions are different to the ones of the period in which they were set up. The robustness assessment test built to detect dependencies between model error and climatic drivers was applied to three hydrological models in 352 catchments in Denmark, France and Sweden. Potential issues are seen in a significant number of catchments for the models, even though the catchments differ for each model.
Xudong Zheng, Dengfeng Liu, Shengzhi Huang, Hao Wang, and Xianmeng Meng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 627–653, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-627-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-627-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Water budget non-closure is a widespread phenomenon among multisource datasets which undermines the robustness of hydrological inferences. This study proposes a Multisource Dataset Correction Framework grounded in Physical Hydrological Process Modelling to enhance water budget closure, termed PHPM-MDCF. We examined the efficiency and robustness of the framework using the CAMELS dataset and achieved an average reduction of 49 % in total water budget residuals across 475 CONUS basins.
Elena Macdonald, Bruno Merz, Viet Dung Nguyen, and Sergiy Vorogushyn
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 447–463, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-447-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-447-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Flood peak distributions indicate how likely the occurrence of an extreme flood is at a certain river. If the distribution has a so-called heavy tail, extreme floods are more likely than might be anticipated. We find heavier tails in small catchments compared to large catchments, and spatially variable rainfall leads to a lower occurrence probability of extreme floods. Spatially variable runoff does not show effects. The results can improve estimations of probabilities of extreme floods.
Ngo Nghi Truyen Huynh, Pierre-André Garambois, Benjamin Renard, François Colleoni, Jérôme Monnier, and Hélène Roux
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3665, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3665, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding and modeling flash flood-prone areas remains challenging due to limited data and scale-relevant hydrological theory. While machine learning shows promise, its integration with process-based models is difficult. We present an approach incorporating machine learning into a high-resolution hydrological model to correct internal fluxes and transfer parameters between watersheds. Results show improved accuracy, advancing development of learnable and interpretable process-based models.
Alonso Pizarro, Demetris Koutsoyiannis, and Alberto Montanari
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-389, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-389, 2025
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce RUMI, a new metric to improve rainfall-runoff simulations. RUMI better captures the link between observed and simulated stream flows by considering uncertainty at a core computation step. Tested on 99 catchments and with the GR4J model, it outperforms traditional metrics by providing more reliable and consistent results. RUMI paves the way for more accurate hydrological predictions.
Junfu Gong, Xingwen Liu, Cheng Yao, Zhijia Li, Albrecht H. Weerts, Qiaoling Li, Satish Bastola, Yingchun Huang, and Junzeng Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 335–360, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-335-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-335-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study introduces a new method to improve flood forecasting by combining soil moisture and streamflow data using an advanced data assimilation technique. By integrating field and reanalysis soil moisture data and assimilating this with streamflow measurements, we aim to enhance the accuracy of flood predictions. This approach reduces the accumulation of past errors in the initial conditions at the start of the forecast, helping to better prepare for and respond to floods.
Jordy Salmon-Monviola, Ophélie Fovet, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 127–158, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-127-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-127-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
To increase the predictive power of hydrological models, it is necessary to improve their consistency, i.e. their physical realism, which is measured by the ability of the model to reproduce observed system dynamics. Using a model to represent the dynamics of water and nitrate and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in an agricultural catchment, we showed that using solute-concentration data for calibration is useful to improve the hydrological consistency of the model.
Parthkumar A. Modi, Jared C. Carbone, Keith S. Jennings, Hannah Kamen, Joseph R. Kasprzyk, Bill Szafranski, Cameron W. Wobus, and Ben Livneh
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4046, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4046, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that in unmanaged snow-dominated basins, high forecast accuracy doesn’t always lead to high economic value, especially during extreme conditions like droughts. It highlights how irregular errors in modern forecasting systems weaken the connection between accuracy and value. These findings call for forecast evaluations to focus not only on accuracy but also on economic impacts, providing valuable guidance for better water resource management under uncertainty.
Benjamin Guillaume, Adrien Michez, and Aurore Degré
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3978, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3978, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Nature-based solutions (NbS) can mitigate floods and agricultural droughts by enhancing soil health and restoring hydrological cycles. This study highlights that leveraging soil diversity is key to optimizing NbS performance.
Haley A. Canham, Belize Lane, Colin B. Phillips, and Brendan P. Murphy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 27–43, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-27-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-27-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The influence of watershed disturbances has proved challenging to disentangle from natural streamflow variability. This study evaluates the influence of time-varying hydrologic controls on rainfall–runoff in undisturbed and wildfire-disturbed watersheds using a novel time-series event separation method. Across watersheds, water year type and season influenced rainfall–runoff patterns. Accounting for these controls enabled clearer isolation of wildfire effects.
Fabian Merk, Timo Schaffhauser, Faizan Anwar, Ye Tuo, Jean-Martial Cohard, and Markus Disse
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5511–5539, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5511-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5511-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Evapotranspiration (ET) is computed from the vegetation (plant transpiration) and soil (soil evaporation). In western Africa, plant transpiration correlates with vegetation growth. Vegetation is often represented using the leaf area index (LAI). In this study, we evaluate the importance of the LAI for ET calculation. We take a close look at this interaction and highlight its relevance. Our work contributes to the understanding of terrestrial water cycle processes .
Eshrat Fatima, Rohini Kumar, Sabine Attinger, Maren Kaluza, Oldrich Rakovec, Corinna Rebmann, Rafael Rosolem, Sascha E. Oswald, Luis Samaniego, Steffen Zacharias, and Martin Schrön
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5419–5441, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5419-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5419-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study establishes a framework to incorporate cosmic-ray neutron measurements into the mesoscale Hydrological Model (mHM). We evaluate different approaches to estimate neutron counts within the mHM using the Desilets equation, with uniformly and non-uniformly weighted average soil moisture, and the physically based code COSMIC. The data improved not only soil moisture simulations but also the parameterisation of evapotranspiration in the model.
Laia Estrada, Xavier Garcia, Joan Saló-Grau, Rafael Marcé, Antoni Munné, and Vicenç Acuña
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5353–5373, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5353-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5353-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrological modelling is a powerful tool to support decision-making. We assessed spatio-temporal patterns and trends of streamflow for 2001–2022 with a hydrological model, integrating stakeholder expert knowledge on management operations. The results provide insight into how climate change and anthropogenic pressures affect water resources availability in regions vulnerable to water scarcity, thus raising the need for sustainable management practices and integrated hydrological modelling.
Patricio Yeste, Matilde García-Valdecasas Ojeda, Sonia R. Gámiz-Fortis, Yolanda Castro-Díez, Axel Bronstert, and María Jesús Esteban-Parra
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5331–5352, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5331-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5331-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Integrating streamflow and evaporation data can help improve the physical realism of hydrologic models. We investigate the capabilities of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) to reproduce both hydrologic variables for 189 headwater located in Spain. Results from sensitivity analyses indicate that adding two vegetation parameters is enough to improve the representation of evaporation and that the performance of VIC exceeded that of the largest modelling effort currently available in Spain.
Daniel T. Myers, David Jones, Diana Oviedo-Vargas, John Paul Schmit, Darren L. Ficklin, and Xuesong Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5295–5310, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5295-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5295-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how streamflow and water quality models respond to land cover data collected by satellites during the growing season versus the non-growing season. The land cover data showed more trees during the growing season and more built areas during the non-growing season. We next found that the use of non-growing season data resulted in a higher modeled nutrient export to streams. Knowledge of these sensitivities would be particularly important when models inform water resource management.
Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Karsten Schulz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-359, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-359, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
Using advances in transit time estimation and tracer data, we tested if fast-flow transit times are controlled solely by soil moisture or are also controlled by precipitation intensity. We used soil moisture-dependent and precipitation intensity-conditional transfer functions. We showed that significant portion of event water bypasses the soil matrix through fast flow paths (overland flow, tile drains, preferential flow paths) in dry soil conditions for both low and high-intensity precipitation.
Kevin R. Shook, Paul H. Whitfield, Christopher Spence, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5173–5192, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5173-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5173-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Recent studies suggest that the velocities of water running off landscapes in the Canadian Prairies may be much smaller than generally assumed. Analyses of historical flows for 23 basins in central Alberta show that many of the rivers responded more slowly and that the flows are much slower than would be estimated from equations developed elsewhere. The effects of slow flow velocities on the development of hydrological models of the region are discussed, as are the possible causes.
Alberto Bassi, Marvin Höge, Antonietta Mira, Fabrizio Fenicia, and Carlo Albert
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4971–4988, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4971-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4971-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The goal is to remove the impact of meteorological drivers in order to uncover the unique landscape fingerprints of a catchment from streamflow data. Our results reveal an optimal two-feature summary for most catchments, with a third feature associated with aridity and intermittent flow that is needed for challenging cases. Baseflow index, aridity, and soil or vegetation attributes strongly correlate with learnt features, indicating their importance for streamflow prediction.
Anjana Devanand, Jason Evans, Andy Pitman, Sujan Pal, David Gochis, and Kevin Sampson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3148, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3148, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Including lateral flow increases evapotranspiration near major river channels in high-resolution land surface simulations in southeast Australia, consistent with observations. The 1-km resolution model shows a widespread pattern of dry ridges that does not exist at coarser resolutions. Our results have implications for improved simulations of droughts and future water availability.
Sylvain Payraudeau, Pablo Alvarez-Zaldivar, Paul van Dijk, and Gwenaël Imfeld
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2840, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2840, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study focuses on the rising concern of pesticides damaging aquatic ecosystems, which puts drinking water, the environment, and human health at risk. We provided more accurate estimates of how pesticides break down and spread in small water systems, helping to improve pesticide management practices. By using unique chemical markers in our analysis, we enhanced the accuracy of our predictions, offering important insights for better protection of water sources and natural ecosystems.
Guillaume Thirel, Léonard Santos, Olivier Delaigue, and Charles Perrin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4837–4860, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4837-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4837-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We discuss how mathematical transformations impact calibrated hydrological model simulations. We assess how 11 transformations behave over the complete range of streamflows. Extreme transformations lead to models that are specialized for extreme streamflows but show poor performance outside the range of targeted streamflows and are less robust. We show that no a priori assumption about transformations can be taken as warranted.
Vishal Thakur, Yannis Markonis, Rohini Kumar, Johanna Ruth Thomson, Mijael Rodrigo Vargas Godoy, Martin Hanel, and Oldrich Rakovec
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-341, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-341, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the changes in water movement in earth is crucial for everyone. To quantify this water movement there are several techniques. We examined how different methods of estimating evaporation impact predictions of various types of water movement across Europe. We found that, while these methods generally agree on whether changes are increasing or decreasing, they differ in magnitude. This means selecting the right evaporation method is crucial for accurate predictions of water movement.
Robert Hull, Elena Leonarduzzi, Luis De La Fuente, Hoang Viet Tran, Andrew Bennett, Peter Melchior, Reed M. Maxwell, and Laura E. Condon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4685–4713, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4685-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4685-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Large-scale hydrologic simulators are a needed tool to explore complex watershed processes and how they may evolve with a changing climate. However, calibrating them can be difficult because they are costly to run and have many unknown parameters. We implement a state-of-the-art approach to model calibration using neural networks with a set of experiments based on streamflow in the upper Colorado River basin.
Nan Wu, Ke Zhang, Amir Naghibi, Hossein Hashemi, Zhongrui Ning, Qinuo Zhang, Xuejun Yi, Haijun Wang, Wei Liu, Wei Gao, and Jerker Jarsjö
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-324, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-324, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
The hydrology of cold regions in the human population is poorly understood due to complex motion and limited data, hindering streamflow analysis. Using existing models, we compared runoff from an extended model with snowmelt and frozen ground, validating its reliability and integration. This study focuses on the effects of snowmelt and frozen ground on runoff, affecting precipitation type, surface-groundwater partitioning, and evapotranspiration.
Jari-Pekka Nousu, Kersti Leppä, Hannu Marttila, Pertti Ala-aho, Giulia Mazzotti, Terhikki Manninen, Mika Korkiakoski, Mika Aurela, Annalea Lohila, and Samuli Launiainen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4643–4666, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4643-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4643-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We used hydrological models, field measurements, and satellite-based data to study the soil moisture dynamics in a subarctic catchment. The role of groundwater was studied with different ways to model the groundwater dynamics and via comparisons to the observational data. The choice of groundwater model was shown to have a strong impact, and representation of lateral flow was important to capture wet soil conditions. Our results provide insights for ecohydrological studies in boreal regions.
Nienke Tempel, Laurène Bouaziz, Riccardo Taormina, Ellis van Noppen, Jasper Stam, Eric Sprokkereef, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4577–4597, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4577-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4577-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the impact of climatic variability on root zone water storage capacities and, thus, on hydrological predictions. Analysing data from 286 areas in Europe and the US, we found that, despite some variations in root zone storage capacity due to changing climatic conditions over multiple decades, these changes are generally minor and have a limited effect on water storage and river flow predictions.
Bu Li, Ting Sun, Fuqiang Tian, Mahmut Tudaji, Li Qin, and Guangheng Ni
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4521–4538, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4521-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4521-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper developed hybrid semi-distributed hydrological models by employing a process-based model as the backbone and utilizing deep learning to parameterize and replace internal modules. The main contribution is to provide a high-performance tool enriched with explicit hydrological knowledge for hydrological prediction and to improve understanding about the hydrological sensitivities to climate change in large alpine basins.
Cited articles
Arnold, N.: Investigating the sensitivity of glacier mass-balance/elevation profiles to changing meteorological conditions: Model experiments for Haut Glacier D'Arolla, Valais, Switzerland, Arc. Antarct. Alp. Res., 37, 139–145, https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(2005)037[0139:ITSOGE]2.0.CO;2, 2005. a
Bárdossy, A. and Das, T.: Influence of rainfall observation network on model calibration and application, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 12, 77–89, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-12-77-2008, 2008. a
Bárdossy, A. and Singh, S. K.: Robust estimation of hydrological model parameters, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 12, 1273–1283, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-12-1273-2008, 2008. a
Bezinge, A., Clark, M. J., Gurnell, A. M., and Warburton, J.: The management of sediment transported by glacial melt-water streams and its significance for the estimation of sediment yield, Ann. Glaciol., 13, 1–5, https://doi.org/10.3189/S0260305500007527, 1989. a, b
Bradley, R. S., Vuille, M., Diaz, H. F., and Vergara, W.: Threats to Water Supplies in the Tropical Andes, Science, 312, 1753–1755, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1114856, 2006. a
Brock, B. W., Willis, I. C., and Sharp, M. J.: Measurement and parameterization of albedo variations at haut glacier d'arolla, Switzerland, J. Glaciol., 46, 675–688, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756500781832675, 2000. a
Carenzo, M., Pellicciotti, F., Rimkus, S., and Burlando, P.: Assessing the transferability and robustness of an enhanced temperature-index glacier-melt model, J. Glaciol., 55, 258–274, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309788608804, 2009. a
Carlstein, E.: The Use of Subseries Values for Estimating the Variance of a General Statistic from a Stationary Sequence, Ann. Stat., 14, 1171–1179, 1986. a
Clark, M. P. and Slater, A. G.: Probabilistic Quantitative Precipitation Estimation in Complex Terrain, J. Hydrometeorol., 7, 3–22, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM474.1, 2006. a
Clark, M. P., Schaefli, B., Schymanski, S. J., Samaniego, L., Luce, C. H., Jackson, B. M., Freer, J. E., Arnold, J. R., Dan Moore, R., Istanbulluoglu, E., and Ceola, S.: Improving the theoretical underpinnings of process-based hydrologic models, Water Resour. Res., 52, 2350–2365, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015wr017910, 2016. a
Clark, M. P., Vogel, R. M., Lamontagne, J. R., Mizukami, N., Knoben, W. J., Tang, G., Gharari, S., Freer, J. E., Whitfield, P. H., Shook, K. R., and Papalexiou, S. M.: The Abuse of Popular Performance Metrics in Hydrologic Modeling, Water Resour. Res., 57, e2020WR029001, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029001, 2021. a, b, c, d
Dadic, R., Mott, R., Lehning, M., and Burlando, P.: Wind influence on snow depth distribution and accumulation over glaciers, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 115, F01012, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JF001261, 2010. a
Ebtehaj, M., Moradkhani, H., and Gupta, H. V.: Improving robustness of hydrologic parameter estimation by the use of moving block bootstrap resampling, Water Resour. Res., 46, W07515, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR007981, 2010. a, b, c
Efron, B.: Bootstrap methods: another look at the jackknife, Ann. Stat., 7, 1–26, https://doi.org/10.1214/aos/1176344552, 1979. a, b
Efstratiadis, A. and Koutsoyiannis, D.: One decade of multi-objective calibration approaches in hydrological modelling: a review, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 55, 58–78, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626660903526292, 2010. a
Engel, M., Penna, D., Bertoldi, G., Vignoli, G., Tirler, W., and Comiti, F.: Controls on spatial and temporal variability in streamflow and hydrochemistry in a glacierized catchment, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2041–2063, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2041-2019, 2019. a
Fatichi, S., Rimkus, S., Burlando, P., Bordoy, R., and Molnar, P.: High-resolution distributed analysis of climate and anthropogenic changes on the hydrology of an Alpine catchment, J. Hydrol., 525, 362–382, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.03.036, 2015. a
Fernandez, W., Vogel, R. M., and Sankarasubramanian, A.: Calage régional d'un modèle de bassin hydrologique, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 45, 689–707, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626660009492371, 2000. a
Finger, D., Pellicciotti, F., Konz, M., Rimkus, S., and Burlando, P.: The value of glacier mass balance, satellite snow cover images, and hourly discharge for improving the performance of a physically based distributed hydrological model, Water Resour. Res., 47, W07519, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009824, 2011. a
Fischer, M., Huss, M., Barboux, C., and Hoelzle, M.: The new Swiss Glacier Inventory SGI2010: Relevance of using high-resolution source data in areas dominated by very small glaciers, Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res., 46, 933–945, https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-46.4.933, 2014. a
Follum, M. L., Niemann, J. D., and Fassnacht, S. R.: A comparison of snowmelt-derived streamflow from temperature-index and modified-temperature-index snow models, Hydrol. Process., 33, 3030–3045, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13545, 2019. a
Frenierre, J. L. and Mark, B. G.: A review of methods for estimating the contribution of glacial meltwater to total watershed discharge, Prog. Phys. Geog., 38, 173–200, https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133313516161, 2014. a
Gabbi, J., Carenzo, M., Pellicciotti, F., Bauder, A., and Funk, M.: A comparison of empirical and physically based glacier surface melt models for long-term simulations of glacier response, J. Glaciol., 60, 1199–1207, https://doi.org/10.3189/2014JoG14J011, 2014. a, b
Gabbud, C., Micheletti, N., and Lane, S. N.: Instruments and methods: Lidar measurement of surface melt for a temperate Alpine glacier at the seasonal and hourly scales, J. Glaciol., 61, 963–974, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015JoG14J226, 2015. a, b, c
Gabbud, C., Micheletti, N., and Lane, S. N.: Response of a temperate alpine valley glacier to climate change at the decadal scale, Geogr. Ann. A, 98, 81–95, https://doi.org/10.1111/geoa.12124, 2016. a, b
GLAMOS: Swiss Glacier Inventory 2016, release 2020, Glacier Monitoring Switzerland [data set], https://doi.org/10.18750/inventory.sgi2016.r2020, 2020. a, b, c, d
Götzinger, J. and Bárdossy, A.: Comparison of four regionalisation methods for a distributed hydrological model, J. Hydrol. 333, 374–384, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.09.008, 2007. a, b
Griessinger, N., Seibert, J., Magnusson, J., and Jonas, T.: Assessing the benefit of snow data assimilation for runoff modeling in Alpine catchments, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3895–3905, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3895-2016, 2016. a, b
Guo, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, L., and Wang, Z.: Regionalization of hydrological modeling for predicting streamflow in ungauged catchments: A comprehensive review, WIREs Water, 8, e1487, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1487, 2021. a, b, c
Gupta, H. V., Kling, H., Yilmaz, K. K., and Martinez, G. F.: Decomposition of the mean squared error and NSE performance criteria: Implications for improving hydrological modelling, J. Hydrol., 377, 80–91, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.08.003, 2009. a, b
Gyawali, D. R. and Bárdossy, A.: Development and parameter estimation of snowmelt models using spatial snow-cover observations from MODIS, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3055–3077, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3055-2022, 2022. a
Hamon, W. R.: Estimating potential evapotranspiration, T. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., 128, 324–338, 1963. a
He, Z. H., Parajka, J., Tian, F. Q., and Blöschl, G.: Estimating degree-day factors from MODIS for snowmelt runoff modeling, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4773–4789, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4773-2014, 2014. a, b
Hingray, B., Schaefli, B., Mezghani, A., and Hamdi, Y.: Signature-based model calibration for hydrological prediction in mesoscale Alpine catchments, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 55, 1002–1016, https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2010.505572, 2010. a, b, c
Hock, R.: A distributed temperature-index ice- and snowmelt model including potential direct solar radiation, J. Glaciol., 45, 101–111, https://doi.org/10.3189/s0022143000003087, 1999. a, b, c
Hock, R.: Temperature index melt modelling in mountain areas, J. Hydrol., 282, 104–115, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(03)00257-9, 2003. a
Horton, P. and Argentin, A.-L.: Hydrobricks: v0.7.2, Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11082505, 2024. a, b
Horton, P., Schaefli, B., Mezghani, A., Hingray, B., and Musy, A.: Assessment of climate-change impacts on alpine discharge regimes with climate model uncertainty, Hydrol. Process., 20, 2091–2109, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6197, 2006. a
Horton, P., Schaefli, B., and Kauzlaric, M.: Why do we have so many different hydrological models? A review based on the case of Switzerland, WIREs Water, 9, e1574, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1574, 2022. a, b
Houska, T., Kraft, P., Chamorro-Chavez, A., and Breuer, L.: SPOTting model parameters using a ready-made python package, PLoS ONE, 10, e0145180, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145180, 2015. a
Hundecha, Y. and Bárdossy, A.: Modeling of the effect of land use changes on the runoff generation of a river basin through parameter regionalization of a watershed model, J. Hydrol., 292, 281–295, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.01.002, 2004. a
Hurni, M.: Assimilation of snow depth data from Sentinel-1 to improve the hydrological model of the Borgne catchment (VS), PhD thesis, EPFL, CREALP, https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/189169 (last access: 18 March 2025), 2021. a
Huss, M., Farinotti, D., Bauder, A., and Funk, M.: Modelling runoff from highly glacierized alpine drainage basins in a changing climate, Hydrol. Process., 22, 3888–3902, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7055, 2008. a
Immerzeel, W. W., Droogers, P., de Jong, S. M., and Bierkens, M. F.: Large-scale monitoring of snow cover and runoff simulation in Himalayan river basins using remote sensing, Remote Sens. Environ., 113, 40–49, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2008.08.010, 2009. a
Ismail, M. F., Bogacki, W., Disse, M., Schäfer, M., and Kirschbauer, L.: Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components, The Cryosphere, 17, 211–231, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-211-2023, 2023. a, b
Jansson, P., Hock, R., and Schneider, T.: The concept of glacier storage: A review, J. Hydrol., 282, 116–129, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(03)00258-0, 2003. a
Kirchner, J. W.: Getting the right answers for the right reasons: Linking measurements, analyses, and models to advance the science of hydrology, Water Resour. Res., 42, W03S04, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004362, 2006. a
Kling, H. and Gupta, H.: On the development of regionalization relationships for lumped watershed models: The impact of ignoring sub-basin scale variability, J. Hydrol., 373, 337–351, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.04.031, 2009. a
Knoben, W. J. M., Freer, J. E., and Woods, R. A.: Technical note: Inherent benchmark or not? Comparing Nash–Sutcliffe and Kling–Gupta efficiency scores, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4323–4331, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4323-2019, 2019. a, b, c
Koboltschnig, G. R., Schöner, W., Zappa, M., Kroisleitner, C., and Holzmann, H.: Runoff modelling of the glacierized Alpine Upper Salzach basin (Austria): Multi-criteria result validation, Hydrol. Process., 22, 3950–3964, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7112, 2008. a
Konz, M. and Seibert, J.: On the value of glacier mass balances for hydrological model calibration, J. Hydrol., 385, 238–246, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.02.025, 2010. a
Künsch, H. R.: The Jackknife and the Bootstrap for General Stationary Observations, Ann. Stat., 17, 1217–1241, 1989. a
Lambiel, C., Maillard, B., Kummert, M., and Reynard, E.: Geomorphology of the Hérens valley (Swiss Alps), J. Maps, 12, 160–172, https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2014.999135, 2016. a
Lane, S. N. and Nienow, P. W.: Decadal-Scale Climate Forcing of Alpine Glacial Hydrological Systems, Water Resour. Res., 55, 2478–2492, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024206, 2019. a, b, c
Lane, S. N., Bakker, M., Gabbud, C., Micheletti, N., and Saugy, J. N.: Sediment export, transient landscape response and catchment-scale connectivity following rapid climate warming and Alpine glacier recession, Geomorphology, 277, 210–227, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.02.015, 2017. a
Liang, X., Guo, J., and Leung, L. R.: Assessment of the effects of spatial resolutions on daily water flux simulations, J. Hydrol., 298, 287–310, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2003.07.007, 2004. a
Linsbauer, A., Huss, M., Hodel, E., Bauder, A., Fischer, M., Weidmann, Y., Bärtschi, H., and Schmassmann, E.: The New Swiss Glacier Inventory SGI2016: From a Topographical to a Glaciological Dataset, Front. Earth Sci., 9, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.704189, 2021. a
Mair, D., Nienow, P., Sharp, M., Wohlleben, T., and Willis, I.: Influence of subglacial drainage system evolution on glacier surface motion: Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 107, EPM 8-1–EPM 8-13, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001jb000514, 2002. a
Mair, D., Willis, I., Fischer, U. H., Hubbard, B., Nienow, P., and Hubbard, A.: Hydrological controls on patterns of surface, internal and basal motion during three ”spring events”: Haut Glacier d' Arolla, Switzerland, J. Glaciol., 49, 555–567, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756503781830467, 2003. a
Martinec, J.: The degree-day factor for snowmelt-runoff forecasting, in: IAHS Publication, in: IUGG General Assembly of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, 51, 468–477, 1960. a
MeteoSwiss: Documentation of MeteoSwiss Grid-Data Products: Daily Precipitation (final analysis): RhiresD, Tech. Rep., MeteoSwiss, https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/dam/jcr:4f51f0f1-0fe3-48b5-9de0-15666327e63c/ProdDoc_RhiresD.pdf (last access: 18 March 2025), 2019a. a
MeteoSwiss: Documentation of MeteoSwiss Grid-Data Products: Daily Mean, Minimum and Maximum Temperature: TabsD, TminD, TmaxD, Tech. Rep., MeteoSwiss, https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/dam/jcr:818a4d17-cb0c-4e8b-92c6-1a1bdf5348b7/ProdDoc_TabsD.pdf (last access: 18 March 2025), 2019b. a
MeteoSwiss: Spatial Climate Analyses, MeteoSwiss [data set], https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/climate/the-climate-of-switzerland/spatial-climate-analyses.html, last access: 18 March 2025. a
Michelon, A., Benoit, L., Beria, H., Ceperley, N., and Schaefli, B.: Benefits from high-density rain gauge observations for hydrological response analysis in a small alpine catchment, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2301–2325, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2301-2021, 2021. a
Mosley, M.: Delimitation of New Zealand hydrologic regions, J. Hydrol., 49, 173–192, 1981. a
Nasab, M. T. and Chu, X.: Do sub-daily temperature fluctuations around the freezing temperature alter macro-scale snowmelt simulations?, J. Hydrol., 596, 125683, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125683, 2021. a
Ohmura, A.: Physical basis for the temperature-based melt-index method, J. Appl. Meteorol., 40, 753–761, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2001)040<0753:PBFTTB>2.0.CO;2, 2001. a
Parajka, J. and Blöschl, G.: Validation of MODIS snow cover images over Austria, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 10, 679–689, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-10-679-2006, 2006. a
Parajka, J. and Blöschl, G.: The value of MODIS snow cover data in validating and calibrating conceptual hydrologic models, J. Hydrol., 358, 240–258, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.06.006, 2008. a, b
Parajka, J., Merz, R., and Blöschl, G.: A comparison of regionalisation methods for catchment model parameters, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 9, 157–171, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-9-157-2005, 2005. a, b
Pellicciotti, F., Brock, B., Strasser, U., Burlando, P., Funk, M., and Corripio, J.: An enhanced temperature-index glacier melt model including the shortwave radiation balance: Development and testing for Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, J. Glaciol., 51, 573–587, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756505781829124, 2005. a
Penna, D., Engel, M., Bertoldi, G., and Comiti, F.: Towards a tracer-based conceptualization of meltwater dynamics and streamflow response in a glacierized catchment, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 23–41, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-23-2017, 2017. a
Pokhrel, P., Gupta, H. V., and Wagener, T.: A spatial regularization approach to parameter estimation for a distributed watershed model, Water Resour. Res., 44, W12419, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006615, 2008. a
Rango, A. and Martinec, J.: Revisiting the degree-day method for snowmelt computations, J. Am. Water Resour. As., 31, 657–669, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1995.tb03392.x,, 1995. a
Rinaldo, A., Marani, A., and Rigon, R.: Geomorphological dispersion, Water Resour. Res., 27, 513–525, https://doi.org/10.1029/90WR02501, 1991. a
Rinaldo, A., Botter, G., Bertuzzo, E., Uccelli, A., Settin, T., and Marani, M.: Transport at basin scales: 1. Theoretical framework, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 10, 19–29, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-10-19-2006, 2006. a
Ritter, A. and Muñoz-Carpena, R.: Performance evaluation of hydrological models: Statistical significance for reducing subjectivity in goodness-of-fit assessments, J. Hydrol., 480, 33–45, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.12.004, 2013. a
Ruelland, D.: Potential of snow data to improve the consistency and robustness of a semi-distributed hydrological model using the SAFRAN input dataset, J. Hydrol., 631, 130820, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130820, 2024. a, b
Samaniego, L., Kumar, R., and Attinger, S.: Multiscale parameter regionalization of a grid-based hydrologic model at the mesoscale, Water Resour. Res., 46, W05523, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR007327, 2010. a, b
Schaefli, B. and Gupta, H. V.: Do Nash values have value?, Hydrol. Process., 21, 2075–2080, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6825, 2007. a
Schaefli, B. and Huss, M.: Integrating point glacier mass balance observations into hydrologic model identification, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1227–1241, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1227-2011, 2011. a, b
Schaefli, B., Hingray, B., Niggli, M., and Musy, A.: A conceptual glacio-hydrological model for high mountainous catchments, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 9, 95–109, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-9-95-2005, 2005. a, b, c, d
Seibert, J.: Regionalisation of parameters for a conceptual rainfall-runoff model, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 98–99, 279–293, 1999. a
Sharp, M., Richards, K., Willis, I., Arnold, N., Nienow, P., Lawson, W., and Tison, J.: Geometry, bed topography and drainage system structure of the haut glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 18, 557–571, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3290180608, 1993. a
Shokory, J. A. N. and Lane, S. N.: Patterns and drivers of glacier debris-cover development in the Afghanistan Hindu Kush Himalaya, J. Glaciol., 69, 1260–1274, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.14, 2023. a, b
Singh, P. and Kumar, N.: Impact assessment of climate change on the hydrological response of a snow and glacier melt runoff dominated Himalayan river, J. Hydrol., 193, 316–350, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(96)03142-3, 1997. a
Sivapalan, M., Blöschl, G., Zhang, L., and Vertessy, R.: Downward approach to hydrological prediction, Hydrol. Process., 17, 2101–2111, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.1425, 2003. a
Şorman, A. A., Şensoy, A., Tekeli, A. E., Şorman, A. Ü., and Akyürek, Z.: Modelling and forecasting snowmelt runoff process using the HBV model in the eastern part of Turkey, 23, 1031–1040, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7204, 2009. a
Srinivas, V. V. and Srinivasan, K.: Hybrid moving block bootstrap for stochastic simulation of multi-site multi-season streamflows, J. Hydrol., 302, 307–330, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.07.011, 2005. a, b
Swift, D. A., Nienow, P. W., Spedding, N., and Hoey, T. B.: Geomorphic implications of subglacial drainage configuration: rates of basal sediment evacuation controlled by seasonal drainage system evolution, Sediment. Geol., 149, 5–19, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(01)00241-X, 2002. a
Swift, D. A., Nienow, P. W., Hoey, T. B., and Mair, D. W.: Seasonal evolution of runoff from Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland and implications for glacial geomorphic processes, J. Hydrol., 309, 133–148, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.11.016, 2005. a
Tague, C. L., Papuga, S. A., Gerlein-Safdi, C., Dymond, S., Morrison, R. R., Boyer, E. W., Riveros-Iregui, D., Agee, E., Arora, B., Dialynas, Y. G., Hansen, A., Krause, S., Kuppel, S., Loheide, S. P., Schymanski, S. J., and Zipper, S. C.: Adding our leaves: A community-wide perspective on research directions in ecohydrology, Hydrol. Process., 34, 1665–1673, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13693, 2020. a
Thibert, E., Sielenou, P. D., Vionnet, V., Eckert, N., and Vincent, C.: Causes of Glacier Melt Extremes in the Alps Since 1949, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 817–825, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076333, 2018. a
Tiwari, D., Trudel, M., and Leconte, R.: On optimization of calibrations of a distributed hydrological model with spatially distributed information on snow, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1127–1146, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1127-2024, 2024. a
Tobias, W., Manfred, S., Klaus, J., Zappa, M., and Bettina, S.: The future of Alpine Run-of-River hydropower production: Climate change, environmental flow requirements, and technical production potential, Sci. Total Environ., 890, 163934, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163934, 2023. a
Tobin, C., Schaefli, B., Nicótina, L., Simoni, S., Barrenetxea, G., Smith, R., Parlange, M., and Rinaldo, A.: Improving the degree-day method for sub-daily melt simulations with physically-based diurnal variations, Adv. Water Resour., 55, 149–164, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2012.08.008, 2013. a
Troy, T. J., Wood, E. F., and Sheffield, J.: An efficient calibration method for continental-scale land surface modeling, Water Resour. Res., 44, W09411, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006513, 2008. a, b
USGS: Landsat, USGS [data set], https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/, last access: 18 March 2025. a
van Tiel, M., Stahl, K., Freudiger, D., and Seibert, J.: Glacio-hydrological model calibration and evaluation, WIREs Water, 7, e1483, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1483, 2020. a, b
Vogel, R. M. and Shallcross, A. L.: The moving blocks bootstrap versus parametric time series models, Water Resour. Res., 32, 1875–1882, https://doi.org/10.1029/96WR00928, 1996. a
Wagener, T. and Wheater, H. S.: Parameter estimation and regionalization for continuous rainfall-runoff models including uncertainty, J. Hydrol., 320, 132–154, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.07.015, 2006. a
Zuecco, G., Carturan, L., Blasi, F. D., Seppi, R., Zanoner, T., Penna, D., Borga, M., Carton, A., and Fontana, G. D.: Understanding hydrological processes in glacierized catchments: Evidence and implications of highly variable isotopic and electrical conductivity data, Hydrol. Process., 33, 816–832, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13366, 2019. a
Short summary
In this article, we show that by taking the optimal parameters calibrated with a semi-lumped model for the discharge at a catchment's outlet, we can accurately simulate runoff at various points within the study area, including three nested and three neighboring catchments. In addition, we demonstrate that employing more intricate melt models, which better represent physical processes, enhances the transfer of parameters in the simulation, until we observe overparameterization.
In this article, we show that by taking the optimal parameters calibrated with a semi-lumped...
