Articles | Volume 30, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1359-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1359-2026
Technical note
 | 
16 Mar 2026
Technical note |  | 16 Mar 2026

Technical note: Analysis of concentration-discharge hysteresis loops using Self-Organizing Maps

Arlex Marin-Ramirez, David Tyler Mahoney, and Grace McDaniel

Cited articles

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Céréghino, R. and Park, Y. S.: Review of the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) approach in water resources: Commentary, Environ. Model. Softw., 24, 945–947, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2009.01.008, 2009. 
Chaney, N. W., Minasny, B., Herman, J. D., Nauman, T. W., Brungard, C. W., Morgan, C. L., McBratney, A. B., Wood, E. F., and Yimam, Y.: POLARIS soil properties: 30-m probabilistic maps of soil properties over the contiguous United States, Water Resour. Res., 55, 2916–2938, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR022797, 2019. 
Clark, S., Sisson, S. A., and Sharma, A.: Tools for enhancing the application of self-organizing maps in water resources research and engineering, Adv. Water Resour., 143, 103676, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2020.103676, 2020. 
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Short summary
This technical note evaluates the efficacy of the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) algorithm to represent concentration-discharge hysteresis patterns in watersheds. Through a proof-of-concept with sediment hysteresis, we show that the SOM algorithm accurately characterizes loop shape and can also be used to reveal the controls of hysteresis patterns in watersheds. We developed a Python package along with this technical note to support broader adoption of the SOM algorithm for hysteresis workflows.
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