Exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systems
Study region: The European alpine space.Study focus: Despite the advancements in hydrological modeling, there is a lack of comparative studies quantifying the performance differences between local and large-scale models, particularly in the context of drought and low flow assessment. This study addr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581824004051 |
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| author | Annie Y.-Y. Chang Maria-Helena Ramos Shaun Harrigan Christel Prudhomme François Tilmant Daniela I.V. Domeisen Massimiliano Zappa |
| author_facet | Annie Y.-Y. Chang Maria-Helena Ramos Shaun Harrigan Christel Prudhomme François Tilmant Daniela I.V. Domeisen Massimiliano Zappa |
| author_sort | Annie Y.-Y. Chang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Study region: The European alpine space.Study focus: Despite the advancements in hydrological modeling, there is a lack of comparative studies quantifying the performance differences between local and large-scale models, particularly in the context of drought and low flow assessment. This study addresses this gap by designing a framework to evaluate the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS), a continental system, in simulating low flow events across 101 alpine stations from 1999–2018, with detailed comparisons to two local systems — GR6J in France and PREVAH in Switzerland — at 34 of these stations.New hydrological insights for the region: The results show that the local systems, PREVAH and GR6J, generally outperform the continental system EFAS for almost all stations. The performance gap between the systems increases as low flow conditions intensify, highlighting the importance of local systems for extreme low flow events. Despite EFAS not being specifically set up for low flows, it has shown an overall acceptable performance compared to the local hydrological systems, especially at locations that are not calibrated within the EFAS system, indicating its potential in ungauged areas. This study lays a foundation for understanding how a continental hydrological system like EFAS can complement local systems or fill the gap when a local system is unavailable to provide reliable predictions of low flow conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c9ed4a74a8a34bcf80c5f7e80a7c86df |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2214-5818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-c9ed4a74a8a34bcf80c5f7e80a7c86df2024-12-08T06:10:51ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182024-12-0156102056Exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systemsAnnie Y.-Y. Chang0Maria-Helena Ramos1Shaun Harrigan2Christel Prudhomme3François Tilmant4Daniela I.V. Domeisen5Massimiliano Zappa6Swiss Federal Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Reading, UK; Corresponding author at: Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UR HYCAR, Antony, FranceEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Reading, UKEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Reading, UKUniversité Paris-Saclay, INRAE, UR HYCAR, Antony, FranceUniversity of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandSwiss Federal Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandStudy region: The European alpine space.Study focus: Despite the advancements in hydrological modeling, there is a lack of comparative studies quantifying the performance differences between local and large-scale models, particularly in the context of drought and low flow assessment. This study addresses this gap by designing a framework to evaluate the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS), a continental system, in simulating low flow events across 101 alpine stations from 1999–2018, with detailed comparisons to two local systems — GR6J in France and PREVAH in Switzerland — at 34 of these stations.New hydrological insights for the region: The results show that the local systems, PREVAH and GR6J, generally outperform the continental system EFAS for almost all stations. The performance gap between the systems increases as low flow conditions intensify, highlighting the importance of local systems for extreme low flow events. Despite EFAS not being specifically set up for low flows, it has shown an overall acceptable performance compared to the local hydrological systems, especially at locations that are not calibrated within the EFAS system, indicating its potential in ungauged areas. This study lays a foundation for understanding how a continental hydrological system like EFAS can complement local systems or fill the gap when a local system is unavailable to provide reliable predictions of low flow conditions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581824004051Low flowsEFASGR6JPREVAHContinental systemLocal system |
| spellingShingle | Annie Y.-Y. Chang Maria-Helena Ramos Shaun Harrigan Christel Prudhomme François Tilmant Daniela I.V. Domeisen Massimiliano Zappa Exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systems Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Low flows EFAS GR6J PREVAH Continental system Local system |
| title | Exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systems |
| title_full | Exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systems |
| title_fullStr | Exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systems |
| title_short | Exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systems |
| title_sort | exploring hydrological system performance for alpine low flows in local and continental prediction systems |
| topic | Low flows EFAS GR6J PREVAH Continental system Local system |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581824004051 |
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