How to improve the representation of hydrological processes in SWAT for a lowland catchment - temporal analysis of parameter sensitivity and model performance
Model diagnostic analyses help to improve the understanding of hydrological processes and their representation in hydrological models. A detailed temporal analysis detects periods of poor model performance and model components with potential for model improvements, which cannot be found by analysing...
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| Published in: | Hydrological processes Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 2651 - 2670 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Chichester
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
15.02.2014
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc |
| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 0885-6087, 1099-1085 |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Model diagnostic analyses help to improve the understanding of hydrological processes and their representation in hydrological models. A detailed temporal analysis detects periods of poor model performance and model components with potential for model improvements, which cannot be found by analysing the whole discharge time series.
In this study, we aim to improve the understanding of hydrological processes by investigating the temporal dynamics of parameter sensitivity and of model performance for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model applied to the Treene lowland catchment in Northern Germany. The temporal analysis shows that the parameter sensitivity varies temporally with high sensitivity for three groundwater parameters (groundwater time delay, baseflow recession constant and aquifer fraction coefficient) and one evaporation parameter (soil evaporation compensation factor). Whereas the soil evaporation compensation factor dominates in baseflow and resaturation periods, groundwater time delay, baseflow recession constant and aquifer fraction coefficient are dominant in the peak and recession phases. The temporal analysis of model performance identifies three clusters with different model performances, which can be related to different phases of the hydrograph. The lowest performance, when comparing six performance measures, is detected for the baseflow cluster. A spatially distributed analysis for six hydrological stations within the Treene catchment shows similar results for all stations.
The linkage of periods with poor model performance to the dominant model components in these phases and with the related hydrological processes shows that the groundwater module has the highest potential for improvement. This temporal diagnostic analysis enhances the understanding of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model and of the dominant hydrological processes in the lowland catchment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Bibliography: | German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) - No. 02WM1136 ArticleID:HYP9777 istex:1D91DED45B84E76C7F71A2A63C562E46F158E51C ark:/67375/WNG-0FQW0PZV-W ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 |
| ISSN: | 0885-6087 1099-1085 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/hyp.9777 |