Towards multi-scale integrated hydrological models using the LIQUID® framework. Overview of the concepts and first application examples

Abstract

Distributed hydrological models are valuable tools that can be used to support water management in catchments. However, the complexity of management issues, the variety of modelling objectives, and the variable availability of data require a flexible way to customize models and adapt them to each individual problem. Environmental modelling frameworks offer such flexibility; they are designed to build and run integrated models on the basis of reusable and exchangeable components. This paper presents the LIQUID ® framework, developed by Hydrowide since 2005. The purpose of developing LIQUID ® was to provide both easier integration of hydrological processes and preservation of their characteristic temporal and spatial scales. It suits a wide range of applications, both in terms of spatial scales and of process conceptualisations. LIQUID ® is able to synchronize different time steps, to handle irregular geometries, and to simulate complex connections between components, in particular involving feedback. The paper presents the concepts of LIQUID ® and the technical choices made to meet the above requirements, with focuses on the simulation run system and on the spatial discretization of process components. The use of the framework is illustrated by five application cases associated with contrasted spatial and temporal scales.

MobRISK: a model for assessing the exposure of road users to flash flood events

“…3.2, a probability of submersion is assigned to every road cut by combining the flooding susceptibility level of the road section and the return period of stream discharge in the river section. The CVN (Cevenne) distributed hydrological model (Vannier et al, 2016;Branger et al, 2010;Viallet et al, 2006) is used to compute the discharge at the 738 road cuts identified in the Alès case study in hourly time steps for the 2002 flash flood. The CVN model is especially developed for simulating hydrological responses in flash flood events in the Cévennes region (south of France).…”

Multi-scale hydrometeorological observation and modelling for flash flood understanding

“…In agreement with the hypothesis testing framework, most of the models used in our study are developed within modelling frameworks, such as JAMS (Jena Adaptable Modelling System) (Kralisch et al, 2007) and LIQUID (Viallet et al, 2006;Branger et al, 2010). These modelling tools allow us to build "à la carte" models and to incrementally assess the impact of changing one hypothesis, either in terms of process representation or in terms of parameter specification.…”

Integrated hydrological modeling of the North China Plain and implications for sustainable water management

“…This is for instance the case in West Java, Indonesia; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Beijing, China (Braadbaart and Braadbaart, 1997;Hoque et al, 2007;Zhou et al, 2012). Large-scale hydrological models have become increasingly popular in assisting water resources management of large aquifer systems (Casper and Vohland, 2008;Goderniaux et al, 2009;Branger et al, 2010). However, great challenges exist in developing and validating such models mainly due to data issues such as unevenly distributed monitoring sites or simply insufficient data (van der Linden and Woo, 2003;Cao et al, 2006;Ferguson and Maxwell, 2010).…”