Hou et al. (2026) Global rainfall simulator studies: review, challenges and perspectives

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-02-06
• Authors: Zhiyi Hou, Gang Liu, Enshuai Shen, Haosong Qiang, Qiong Zhang, Zhen Guo, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Abd Elbasit, Kaishan Song, Xinyu Zhao
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135075

Research Groups

• State Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control, College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering (Institute of Soil and Water Conservation), Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
• Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, China
• Sichuan Huabiaoce Testing Technology Co. Ltd., Chengdu, China
• School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley, South Africa
• The Northeast Institute of Geography and Agricultural Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jilin, China

Short Summary

This review paper comprehensively examines the technological progression, types, applications, limitations, and future prospects of global rainfall simulators, emphasizing the critical need for standardization to enhance their reliability and comparability in soil erosion and hydrological research.

Objective

• To provide a comprehensive review of the technological progression, types, characteristics, comparisons, and applications of rainfall simulators in hydrology and soil erosion research.
• To systematically examine the limitations and challenges in rainfall simulator research, including discrepancies in raindrop characteristics, spatiotemporal differences, scale effects, and uncertainties in standardization.
• To outline future prospects for rainfall simulator development, focusing on systematic evaluation, artificial intelligence integration, comparative analysis, database development, multiscale validation, and standardization.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global (review of studies worldwide), covering scales from small experimental plots to implications for watershed and regional scales.
• Temporal Scale: Historical progression of rainfall simulator technology from early designs to current sophisticated systems, and future development prospects.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable (review paper).
• Data sources: Existing scientific literature and publications on rainfall simulators.

Main Results

• The paper reviews the technological progression of rainfall simulators from early heterogeneous designs to more sophisticated systems, analyzing their types, characteristics, comparisons, and applications in hydrology and soil erosion.
• Key limitations and challenges identified include discrepancies in raindrop characteristics, spatiotemporal differences between simulated and natural rainfall, scale effects and uncertainties when extrapolating small-scale results, and the overarching issue of standardization.
• Future prospects for rainfall simulator development include strengthening systematic evaluation of rainfall characteristics and data quality, integrating artificial intelligence for enhanced analysis, conducting comparative analyses, developing and sharing a comprehensive rainfall simulator database, and performing multiscale validation of data representativeness.
• Addressing standardization challenges by establishing a limited comparability framework in specific fields is proposed to harmonize implementation pathways and enhance the reliability and comparability of rainfall simulator data.

Contributions

• Provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of global rainfall simulator studies, synthesizing technological advancements, applications, and critical challenges.
• Systematically identifies and discusses key limitations, particularly regarding raindrop characteristics, spatiotemporal differences, scale effects, and the overarching issue of standardization.
• Proposes concrete and actionable future prospects for rainfall simulator development, including the integration of artificial intelligence, database creation, multiscale validation, and a framework for standardization.
• Offers a foundational resource for advancing the development of rainfall simulators and improving the accuracy and consistency of soil erosion and hydrological research.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Hou2026Global,
  author = {Hou, Zhiyi and Liu, Gang and Shen, Enshuai and Qiang, Haosong and Zhang, Qiong and Guo, Zhen and Elbasit, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Abd and Song, Kaishan and Zhao, Xinyu},
  title = {Global rainfall simulator studies: review, challenges and perspectives},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135075},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135075}
}