Gleason et al. (2026) SWOT, empiricism, and river modelling

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Bristol Research (University of Bristol)
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-07
• Authors: Colin Joseph Gleason, Paul Bates, Michael Durand, Dongmei Feng, Augusto Getirana, Peirong Lin
• DOI: None

Research Groups

• Hydrology Department, University of California, Berkeley
• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Short Summary

This study assesses the performance of global river models using Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite measurements, highlighting areas where these models struggle and suggesting improvements.

Objective

• Evaluate the accuracy of global river models in various regions and environments

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, with a focus on 68,347 individual river reaches representing ~38% of global discharge.
• Temporal Scale: The study uses SWOT satellite measurements, which provide data at high spatial resolution (10 m) and temporal resolution (1 day).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Global river models (not specified)
• Data sources: Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite measurements

Main Results

• River models struggle in areas of heavy economic development, multi-channel rivers, arid areas, and many Arctic rivers.
• Better skill is observed as rivers get wider.
• Parts of Siberia and China are particularly difficult to model.
• Large variability and spatial heterogeneity exist in model performance.

Contributions

This study provides new insights into the limitations and potential improvements of global river models, highlighting the importance of leveraging SWOT observations within these models.

Funding

• NASA's Earth Science Division (Grant NNX17AE53G)
• National Science Foundation (Grant EAR-1922349)

Citation

@article{Gleason2026SWOT,
  author = {Gleason, Colin Joseph and Bates, Paul and Durand, Michael and Feng, Dongmei and Getirana, Augusto and Lin, Peirong and al , et},
  title = {SWOT, empiricism, and river modelling},
  journal = {Bristol Research (University of Bristol)},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://openalex.org/W7202326156}
}