Articles | Volume 29, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-5453-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-5453-2025
Research article
 | 
21 Oct 2025
Research article |  | 21 Oct 2025

Improving streamflow simulation through machine learning-powered data integration and its potential for forecasting in the Western U.S.

Yuan Yang, Ming Pan, Dapeng Feng, Mu Xiao, Taylor Dixon, Robert Hartman, Chaopeng Shen, Yalan Song, Agniv Sengupta, Luca Delle Monache, and F. Martin Ralph

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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Cited articles

Abdar, M., Pourpanah, F., Hussain, S., Rezazadegan, D., Liu, L., Ghavamzadeh, M., Fieguth, P., Cao, X., Khosravi, A., Acharya, U. R., Makarenkov, V., and Nahavandi, S.: A review of uncertainty quantification in deep learning: Techniques, applications and challenges, Inf. Fusion, 76, 243–297, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2021.05.008, 2021. 
Amatulli, G., Domisch, S., Tuanmu, M.-N., Parmentier, B., Ranipeta, A., Malczyk, J., and Jetz, W.: A suite of global, cross-scale topographic variables for environmental and biodiversity modeling, Sci. Data, 5, 180040, https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.40, 2018a. 
Amatulli, G., Domisch, S., Tuanmu, M.-N., Parmentier, B., Ranipeta, A., Malczyk, J., and Jetz, W.: A suite of global, cross-scale topographic variables for environmental and biodiversity modeling, links to files in GeoTIFF format, PANGAEA [data set], https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.867115, 2018b. 
Ayana, Ö., Kanbak, D. F., Kaya Keleş, M., and Turhan, E.: Monthly streamflow prediction and performance comparison of machine learning and deep learning methods, Acta Geophys., 71, 2905–2922, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11600-023-01023-6, 2023. 
Baker, S. A., Rajagopalan, B., and Wood, A. W.: Enhancing Ensemble Seasonal Streamflow Forecasts in the Upper Colorado River Basin Using Multi-Model Climate Forecasts, J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 57, 906–922, https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12960, 2021. 
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Short summary
We explore a machine learning-based data integration method that integrates streamflow (Q) and snow water equivalent (SWE) to improve streamflow estimates at various lag times (1–10 d, 1–6 months) and timescales (daily and monthly) over Western US basins. Benefits rank as: integrating Q at the daily scale > Q at the monthly scale > SWE at the monthly scale > SWE at the daily scale. Results highlight the method’s potential for short- and long-term streamflow forecasting in the Western US.
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