Scaling, similarity, and the fourth paradigm for hydrology

Peters‐Lidard, Christa D.; Clark, Martyn P.; Samaniego, Luis; Verhoest, Niko; Emmerik, Tim van; Uijlenhoet, R.; Achieng, Kevin O.; Franz, Trenton E.; Woods, Ross

doi:10.5194/hess-21-3701-2017

Cited by 84 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 120 publications

(124 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The above-mentioned challenges that we face in estimating key physical parameters in LSMs/HMs have been intensively discussed in many studies Bierkens et al, 2014;Bierkens, 2015;Clark et al, 2016Clark et al, , 2017Mizukami et al, 2017;Peters-Lidard et al, 2017). To further visualize the problems and to understand the deficiencies of current parameterization techniques, we selected a representative sample of LSMs/HMs used for research and/or operational purposes, namely CABLE, CLM, JULES, LISFLOOD, Noah-MP, mHM, PCR-GLOBWB, WaterGAP2 (30 arcmin), Wa-terGAP3 (5 arcmin), CHTESSEL, and HBV.…”

Section: Parameterization Of Soil Porosity and Available Water Capacimentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward seamless hydrologic predictions across spatial scales

Samaniego

Kumar

Thober

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

Self Cite

112

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Land surface and hydrologic models (LSMs/HMs) are used at diverse spatial resolutions ranging from catchment-scale (1-10 km) to global-scale (over 50 km) applications. Applying the same model structure at different spatial scales requires that the model estimates similar fluxes independent of the chosen resolution, i.e., fulfills a fluxmatching condition across scales. An analysis of state-of-theart LSMs and HMs reveals that most do not have consistent hydrologic parameter fields. Multiple experiments with the mHM, Noah-MP, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP models demonstrate the pitfalls of deficient parameterization practices currently used in most operational models, which are insufficient to satisfy the flux-matching condition. These examples demonstrate that J. Dooge's 1982 statement on the unsolved problem of parameterization in these models remains true. Based on a review of existing parameter regionalization techniques, we postulate that the multiscale parameter regionalization (MPR) technique offers a practical and robust method that provides consistent (seamless) parameter and flux fields across scales. Herein, we develop a general model protocol to describe how MPR can be applied to a particular model and present an example application using the PCR-GLOBWB model. Finally, we discuss potential advantages and limitations of MPR in obtaining the seamless prediction of hydrological fluxes and states across spatial scales.

show abstract

Section: Parameterization Of Soil Porosity and Available Water Capacimentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward seamless hydrologic predictions across spatial scales

Samaniego

Kumar

Thober

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

Self Cite

112

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our approach is in the spirit of linking patterns to processes (Sivapalan, 2005), and of using data-intensive science as a timely and promising paradigm for advancing hydrological science (Peters-Lidard et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global synthesis of forest cover effects on long-term water balance partitioning in large basins

Mercado‐Bettín

Salazar

Villegas

2017

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Global changes in forest cover have been related to major scientific and social challenges. There are important uncertainties about the potential effects of ongoing forest loss on continental water balances. Here we present an observationbased analysis of long-term water balance partitioning (precipitation divided into evaporation and runoff) in 22 large basins of the world, whereby we identify two partitioning patterns likely related to biophysical mechanisms that depend on the presence and abundance of forests. In less forested basins, evaporation dominates water balance and, as forest cover increases, 5 this dominance of evaporation over runoff is reduced. When forest is the predominant cover, both components account for nearly half of precipitation in the long-term water balance. The distinction between these two patterns is not fully explained by differences between water-and energy-limited environments, but requires consideration of other biophysical properties that affect precipitation and its conversion into evaporation and runoff. Our results indicate that forest cover is an effective descriptor of basin attributes that are relevant for characterizing long-term water balance partitioning in large basins of the world. Further, 10 our results provide insights to understanding and predicting the potential consequences of forest loss on continental water availability, a critical determinant for multiple ecological and societal processes.

show abstract

“…As both hydrological and remote sensing research progress, it is prudent that we (at least initially) seek the middle ground, where the development of machine-learning methods might be guided by theoretical constraints and understanding, and that they be used to complement or improve more traditional physically based models, which in turn can add interpretability with regard to the underlying processes. Regardless, the opportunities being presented by these new and innovative approaches are likely to challenge our concept of hydrology as a discipline, especially as the exploration of interdisciplinary datasets provide new insights and understanding to hydrological processes and behaviour: a topic that is expanded upon in the context of a fourth paradigm in hydrology, as discussed in Peters-Lidard et al (2017).…”

Section: Cloud Computing and Data Analyticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The future of Earth observation in hydrology

McCabe

Rodell

Alsdorf

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

Self Cite

371

279

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. In just the past 5 years, the field of Earth observation has progressed beyond the offerings of conventional space-agency-based platforms to include a plethora of sensing opportunities afforded by CubeSats, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and smartphone technologies that are being embraced by both for-profit companies and individual researchers. Over the previous decades, space agency efforts have brought forth well-known and immensely useful satellites such as the Landsat series and the Gravity Research and Climate Experiment (GRACE) system, with costs typically of the order of 1 billion dollars per satellite and with concept-to-launch timelines of the order of 2 decades (for new missions). More recently, the proliferation of smartphones has helped to miniaturize sensors and energy requirements, facilitating advances in the use of CubeSats that can be launched by the dozens, while providing ultra-high (3-5 m) resolution sensing of the Earth on a daily basis. Startup companies that did not exist a decade ago now operate more satellites in orbit than any space agency, and at costs that are a mere fraction of traditional satellite missions.With these advances come new space-borne measurements, such as real-time high-definition video for tracking air pollution, storm-cell development, flood propagation, precipitation monitoring, or even for constructing digital surfaces using structure-from-motion techniques. Closer to the surface, measurements from small unmanned drones and tethered balloons have mapped snow depths, floods, and estimated evaporation at sub-metre resolutions, pushing back on spatio-temporal constraints and delivering new process insights. At ground level, precipitation has been measured using signal attenuation between antennae mounted on cell phone towers, while the proliferation of mobile devices has enabled citizen scientists to catalogue photos of environmental conditions, estimate daily average temperatures from battery state, and sense other hydrologically important variables such as channel depths using commercially available wireless devices. Global internet access is being pursued via highaltitude balloons, solar planes, and hundreds of planned satellite launches, providing a means to exploit the "internet of things" as an entirely new measurement domain. Such globalPublished by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. The future of Earth observation in hydrology access will enable real-time collection of data from billions of smartphones or from remote research platforms. This future will produce petabytes of data that can only be accessed via cloud storage and will require new analytical approaches to interpret. The extent to which today's hydrologic models can usefully ingest such massive data volumes is unclear. Nor is it clear whether this deluge of data will be usefully exploited, either because the measurements are superfluous, inconsistent, not accurate enough, or simply because we lack the capacity to process and analyse them. What is apparen...

show abstract

Scaling, similarity, and the fourth paradigm for hydrology

Cited by 84 publications

References 120 publications

Toward seamless hydrologic predictions across spatial scales

Toward seamless hydrologic predictions across spatial scales

Global synthesis of forest cover effects on long-term water balance partitioning in large basins

The future of Earth observation in hydrology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About