Rivas et al. (2025) Performance Evaluation of the SRM and GRxJ—CemaNeige Models for Daily Streamflow Simulation in Two Catchments with Snow and Rain Dominated Hydrological Regimes

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Identification

• Journal: Water
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-30
• Authors: B. L. Rivas, Víctor Osores, David González, Carlo Gualtieri, Santiago Yépez
• DOI: 10.3390/w17233413

Research Groups

Not explicitly provided in the paper text.

Short Summary

This study evaluated the performance of the Snowmelt-Runoff Model (SRM) and the GRxJ model family in two Chilean basins with contrasting hydrological regimes. It found that SRM generally outperformed GRxJ, especially in snow-dominated catchments, highlighting the need to adapt modeling strategies to local hydrological conditions for effective water management.

Objective

• To evaluate the performance of the Snowmelt-Runoff Model (SRM) and the Génie Rural à X Paramètres Journalier (GRxJ) model family (both independently and combined with the CemaNeige snow module) in accurately estimating streamflow in snow- and rain-dominated basins in the Chilean Andes.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Two Chilean watershed basins: the snow-dominated Aconcagua basin and the mixed rain–snow Duqueco basin.
• Temporal Scale: Daily data from 2012 to 2020.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Snowmelt-Runoff Model (SRM), Génie Rural à X Paramètres Journalier (GRxJ) model family (analyzed independently and in combination with the CemaNeige snow module).
• Data sources: Daily precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, snow cover (from MODIS), and streamflow. Models were calibrated and validated using optimization algorithms and evaluated with NSE, RMSE, R2, PBIAS, KGE, MAE, logNSE, and APFB.

Main Results

• SRM effectively reproduced streamflow variability in both basins and extreme events in the rain-snow regime basin.
• SRM's Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) ranged from 0.70 to 0.78 for the Aconcagua basin and 0.93 to 0.94 for the Duqueco basin.
• SRM showed the best overall performance in both analyzed catchments, despite some limitations in reproducing extreme streamflow events.
• The GRxJ models did not adequately capture the hydrological dynamics of the snow-dominated Aconcagua catchment.
• GRxJ models' performance considerably improved when applied to the mixed rain-snow regime of the Duqueco River.

Contributions

• Provides practical guidance for water management and climate change adaptation in Andean catchments by demonstrating the importance of adapting modeling strategies to local hydrological conditions and data availability.
• Offers a comparative evaluation of SRM and GRxJ models in contrasting Andean hydrological regimes, contributing to model selection knowledge for water resource management in data-limited regions.

Funding

Not provided in the paper text.

Citation

@article{Rivas2025Performance,
  author = {Rivas, B. L. and Osores, Víctor and González, David and Gualtieri, Carlo and Yépez, Santiago},
  title = {Performance Evaluation of the SRM and GRxJ—CemaNeige Models for Daily Streamflow Simulation in Two Catchments with Snow and Rain Dominated Hydrological Regimes},
  journal = {Water},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.3390/w17233413},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/w17233413}
}