document

Spatial transferability of landscape-based hydrological models

Gao, H. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F.F. (author), Gharari, S. (author), Sriwongsitanon, N. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

journal article 2015

document

Climate controls how ecosystems size the root zone storage capacity at catchment scale

Gao, H. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Schymanski, S. (author), Fenicia, F.F. (author), Sriwongsitanon, N. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

journal article 2015

document

A constraint-based search algorithm for parameter identification of environmental models

Gharari, S. (author), Shafiei, M. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Kumar, R. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Gupta, H.V. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

Many environmental systems models, such as conceptual rainfall-runoff models, rely on model calibration for parameter identification. For this, an observed output time series (such as runoff) is needed, but frequently not available (e.g., when making predictions in ungauged basins). In this study, we provide an alternative approach for parameter...

journal article 2014

document

Using expert knowledge to increase realism in environmental system models can dramatically reduce the need for calibration

Gharari, S. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Gao, H. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

Conceptual environmental system models, such as rainfall runoff models, generally rely on calibration for parameter identification. Increasing complexity of this type of models for better representation of hydrological process heterogeneity, typically makes parameter identification more difficult. Although various, potentially valuable,...

journal article 2014

document

Climate controls how ecosystems size the root zone storage capacity at catchment scale

Gao, H. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Schymanski, S.J. (author), Fenicia, F.F. (author), Sriwongsitanon, N. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

The root zone moisture storage capacity (SR) of terrestrial ecosystems is a buffer providing vegetation continuous access to water and a critical factor controlling land-atmospheric moisture exchange, hydrological response, and biogeochemical processes. However, it is impossible to observe directly at catchment scale. Here, using data from 300...

journal article 2014

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Testing the realism of a topography-driven model (FLEX-Topo) in the nested catchments of the Upper Heihe, China

Gao, H. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F.F. (author), Gharari, S. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

Although elevation data are globally available and used in many existing hydrological models, their information content is still underexploited. Topography is closely related to geology, soil, climate and land cover. As a result, it may reflect the dominant hydrological processes in a catchment. In this study, we evaluated this hypothesis...

journal article 2014

document

A strategy for “constraint-based” parameter specification for environmental models

Gharari, S. (author), Shafiei, M. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Gupta, H.V. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

Many environmental systems models, such as conceptual rainfall-runoff models, rely on model calibration for parameter identification. For this, an observed output time series (such as runoff) is needed, but frequently not available. Here, we explore another way to constrain the parameter values of semi-distributed conceptual models, based on two...

journal article 2013

document

Fuzzy committees of specialized rainfall-runoff models: Further enhancements and tests

Kayastha, N. (author), Ye, J. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Kuzmin, V. (author), Solomatine, D.P. (author)

Often a single hydrological model cannot capture the details of a complex rainfall–runoff relationship, and a possibility here is building specialized models to be responsible for a particular aspect of this relationship and combining them to form a committee model. This study extends earlier work of using fuzzy committees to combine...

journal article 2013

document

The influence of conceptual model structure on model performance: A comparative study for 237 French catchments

Van Esse, W.R. (author), Perrin, C. (author), Booij, M.J. (author), Augustijn, D.C.M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Kavetski, D. (author), Lobligeois, F. (author)

Models with a fixed structure are widely used in hydrological studies and operational applications. For various reasons, these models do not always perform well. As an alternative, flexible modelling approaches allow the identification and refinement of the model structure as part of the modelling process. In this study, twelve different...

journal article 2013

document

Testing the realism of a topography driven model (flex-topo) in the nested catchments of the Upper Heihe, China

Gao, H. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F.F. (author), Gharari, S. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

journal article 2013

document

A framework to assess the realism of model structures using hydrological signatures

Euser, T. (author), Winsemius, H.C. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Uhlenbrook, S. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

The use of flexible hydrological model structures for hypothesis testing requires an objective and diagnostic method to identify whether a rainfall-runoff model structure is suitable for a certain catchment. To determine if a model structure is realistic, i.e. if it captures the relevant runoff processes, both performance and consistency are...

journal article 2013

document

The influence of conceptual model structure on model performance: A comparative study for 237 French catchments

Van Esse, W.R. (author), Perrin, C. (author), Booij, M.J. (author), Augustijn, D.C.M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Lobligeois, F. (author)

In hydrological studies models with a fixed structure are commonly used. For various reasons, these models do not always perform well. As an alternative, a flexible modelling approach could be followed, where the identification of the model structure is part of the model set-up procedure. In this study, the performance of twelve different...

journal article 2013

document

An approach to identify time consistent model parameters: Sub-period calibration

Gharari, S. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

Conceptual hydrological models rely on calibration for the identification of their parameters. As these models are typically designed to reflect real catchment processes, a key objective of an appropriate calibration strategy is the determination of parameter sets that reflect a “realistic” model behavior. Previous studies have shown that...

journal article 2013

document

Fuzzy committees of specialised rainfall-runoff models: Further enhancements

Kayastha, N. (author), Ye, J. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Solomatine, D.P. (author)

Often a single hydrological model cannot capture the details of a complex rainfall-runoff relationship, and a possibility here is building specialised models to be responsible for a particular aspect of this relationship and combining them forming a committee model. This study extends earlier work of using fuzzy committees to combine...

journal article 2013

document

A framework to assess the realism of model structures using hydrological signatures

Euser, T. (author), Winsemius, H.C. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Uhlenbrook, S. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

journal article 2012

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Moving beyond traditional model calibration or how to better identify realistic model parameters: Sub-period calibration

Gharari, S. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

Conceptual hydrological models often rely on calibration for the identification of their parameters. As these models are typically designed to reflect real catchment processes, a key objective of an appropriate calibration strategy is the determination of parameter sets that reflect a “realistic” model behavior. Previous studies have shown that...

journal article 2012

document

Elements of a flexible approach for conceptual hydrological modeling: 1. Motivation and theoretical development

Fenicia, F. (author), Kavetski, D. (author), Savenije, H.H.G. (author)

This paper introduces a flexible framework for conceptual hydrological modeling, with two related objectives: (1) generalize and systematize the currently fragmented field of conceptual models and (2) provide a robust platform for understanding and modeling hydrological systems. In contrast to currently dominant “fixed” model applications, the...

journal article 2011

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Elements of a flexible approach for conceptual hydrological modeling: 2. Application and experimental insights

Kavetski, D. (author), Fenicia, F. (author)

In this article's companion paper, flexible approaches for conceptual hydrological modeling at the catchment scale were motivated, and the SUPERFLEX framework, based on generic model components, was introduced. In this article, the SUPERFLEX framework and the “fixed structure” GR4H model (an hourly version of the popular GR4J model) are applied...

journal article 2011

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Hydrological landscape classification: Investigating the performance of HAND based landscape classifications in a central European meso-scale catchment

Gharari, S. (author), Hrachowitz, M. (author), Fenicia, F. (author), Savenije, H.G. (author)

This paper presents a detailed performance and sensitivity analysis of a recently developed hydrological landscape classification method based on dominant runoff mechanisms. Three landscape classes are distinguished: wetland, hillslope and plateau, corresponding to three dominant hydrological regimes: saturation excess overland flow, storage...

journal article 2011

document

Pursuing the method of multiple working hypotheses for hydrological modeling

Clark, M.P. (author), Kavetski, D. (author), Fenicia, F. (author)

Ambiguities in the representation of environmental processes have manifested themselves in a plethora of hydrological models, differing in almost every aspect of their conceptualization and implementation. The current overabundance of models is symptomatic of an insufficient scientific understanding of environmental dynamics at the catchment...

journal article 2011