Conceptual modelling to assess the influence of hydro-climatic variability on runoff processes in data scarce semi-arid Andean catchments

Abstract

Using hydro-meteorological time series of 50 years and in situ measurements, the dominant runoff processes in perennial Andean headwater catchments in Chile were determined using the hydrological model HBV light. First, cluster analysis was used to identify dry, wet and intermediate years. From these, sub-periods were identified with contrasting seasonal climatic influences on streamflow. By calibrating the model across different periods, impacts on model performance, parameter sensitivity and identifiability were investigated, providing insights into differences in hydrological processes. The modelling approach suggested that, independently of a dry or wet period of calibration, the streamflow response is mostly consistent with flux from groundwater storage, while only a small fraction comes from direct routing of snowmelt. The variation of model parameters, such as the groundwater rate coefficient, was found to be consistent with differing recharge in wet and dry years. The resulting snowmelt-groundwater model is a realistic hypothesis of the hydrological operation of such complex, data scarce and semi-arid Andean catchments. This model may also be a useful tool for predictions of seasonal water availability and a basis for further field studies.

Runoff Modeling of a Coastal Basin to Assess Variations in Response to Shifting Climate and Land Use: Implications for Managed Recharge

“…Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) (Markstrom et al 2015 2017). The most recent PRMS release (version 4, applied in the present study) uses daily time steps, which is consistent with the widespread availability of historical, spatially-distributed daily meteorological data for large continental regions (e.g., GPCC, www.esrl.noaa.…”

Performance evaluation of satellite-based rainfall products on hydrological modeling for a transboundary catchment in northwest Africa

“…The continuing increase in the demand for water and climate changes are expected to have major impacts on water resource availability (Dakhlaoui et al 2017;Nauditt et al 2017;Guermazi et al 2019). Hydrological models are often used to evaluate short-term and long-term changes in water resource availability (see e.g., Ruelland et al 2012;Milano et al 2013).…”

Assessing multidecadal runoff (1970–2010) using regional hydrological modelling under data and water scarcity conditions in Peruvian Pacific catchments

“…Applying a regional hydrological model implies its repeated use everywhere within a region, using a global set of parameters, which are generally transferred from gauged catchments (Engeland & Gottschalk, 2002;Seibert & Beven, 2009). Therefore, it seems necessary to evaluate the modelling robustness and, particularly, the transposability of the calibrated parameters to contrasted climate and/or anthropogenic conditions (Nauditt, Birkel, Soulsby, & Ribbe, 2016). Thirel et al (2015) suggested a calibration and evaluation protocol for dealing with changing catchments, highlighting the advantages of the Differential Split-Sample Test (DSST; Klemeš, 1986).…”