Quintana‐Seguí et al. (2009) Improvement, calibration and validation of a distributed hydrological model over France

Identification

• Journal: Hydrology and earth system sciences
• Year: 2009
• Authors: Pere Quintana Seguí, Éric Martin, Florence Habets, J. Noilhan
• DOI: 10.5194/hess-13-163-2009

Research Groups

• CNRM-GAME (Météo-France CNRS), Toulouse, France
• UMR Sisyphe (Université Pierre et Marie Curie CNRS), Centre de Géosciences, Fontainebleau, France

Short Summary

This study improves the distributed hydrological model SAFRAN-ISBA-MODCOU (SIM) over France by introducing an exponential profile for hydraulic conductivity and demonstrates that calibration is essential for enhancing the model's robustness and accuracy in simulating realistic discharges.

Objective

• To introduce and analyze the impact of an exponential profile of hydraulic conductivity at saturation within the SAFRAN-ISBA-MODCOU (SIM) model.
• To implement and validate a simple calibration method to improve the performance and robustness of the distributed hydrological model SIM over France, focusing on parameters related to hydraulic conductivity and subgrid runoff.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: National scale (France).
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly defined, but covers periods necessary for model validation and calibration of hydrological processes.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: SAFRAN-ISBA-MODCOU (SIM), which integrates:
  • SAFRAN (Meteorological analysis system).
  • ISBA (Land surface model).
  • MODCOU (Hydrogeological model).
• Data sources: Meteorological analysis data (from SAFRAN), and implied observational data (riverflows and aquifer levels) used for calibration and validation.

Main Results

• The introduction of an exponential profile for hydraulic conductivity provides a better description of soil properties, which is important for simulating more realistic river discharges.
• The calibrated SIM model demonstrates greater robustness compared to the original, uncalibrated version.
• Calibration primarily impacts parameters related to flow dynamics (drainage and runoff), while other relevant processes, such as evaporation, remain stable.
• The new empirical parameterization for hydraulic conductivity is only beneficial if accompanied by calibration; otherwise, simulation quality can be degraded.

Contributions

• Successful implementation and analysis of an exponential hydraulic conductivity profile within a complex, distributed hydrological modeling system (SIM).
• Quantitative demonstration that calibration is a necessary tool for improving the performance and robustness of distributed models containing empirical parameters.
• Improvement of the SIM model's ability to simulate realistic riverflows and aquifer levels across the national scale of France.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{QuintanaSeguí2009Improvement,
  author = {Quintana‐Seguí, Pere and Martin, Éric and Habets, Florence and Noilhan, J.},
  title = {Improvement, calibration and validation of a distributed hydrological model over France},
  journal = {Hydrology and earth system sciences},
  year = {2009},
  doi = {10.5194/hess-13-163-2009},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-13-163-2009}
}

Generated by BiblioAssistant using gemini-flash-latest (Google API)