Advances in Geosciences www.adv-geosci.net 1680-7340 1680-7359 18 Advances and visions in large-scale hydrological modelling 2008 10.5194/adgeo-18-31-2008 http://www.adv-geosci.net/18/31/2008/ http://www.adv-geosci.net/18/31/2008/adgeo-18-31-2008.html http://www.adv-geosci.net/18/31/2008/adgeo-18-31-2008.pdf 31 35 2008-06-20 An investigation of the effects of model structure on model performance to reduce discharge simulation uncertainty in two catchments X. Zhang xzhang@hydrology.uni-kiel.de G. Hörmann N. Fohrer Fachabteilung Hydrologie und Wasserwirtschaft, Ökologie-Zentrum, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany This paper investigates the variations of model performance caused by different model structures in both flow processes and model complexity level. Two case studies indicate that model efficiency is strongly dependent on model structure. The resulting substantial variation in both the model efficiency and the hydrographs from different model structures is used to estimate the structural uncertainty. The results help to select the most appropriate model adapted to local situations, which reveal great conformity with the actual hydrological patterns in both study basins. Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D., and Smith, M.: Crop evapotranspiration – Guidelines for computing crop water requirements - FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56, FAO Rome, M-56, ISBN: 92-5-104219-5, 1998. Beven, K. and Binley, A.: The Future Of Distributed Models - Model Calibration And Uncertainty Prediction, Hydrol. Processes, 6(3), 279–298, 1992. DVWK – Deutscher Verband für Wasserwirtschaft und Kulturbau e.V.: Ermittlung der Verdunstung von Land- und Wasserflächen. DVWK-Merkblätter zur Wasserwirtschaft, Heft 238, Bonn, p. 135, 1996. Gao, J., Lu, G., Zhao, G., and Li, J.: Watershed data model: a case study of Xitiaoxi sub-waterhed, Taihu Basin. Journal of Lake Sciences, 18(3), 312–3l, 2006. Georgakakos, K. P., Seo, D.-J., Gupta, H., Schaake, J., and Butts, M. B.: Characterising streamflow simulation uncertainty through multimodel ensembles, J. Hydrol., 298(1–4), 222–241. 2004. Gupta, H. V., Beven, K. J., and Wagener, T.: Model calibration and uncertainty estimation, in: Encyclopedia of hydrologic sciences, edited by: Anderson, M., Wiley, Chichester, 2005 Hörmann, G., Zhang, X., and Fohrer, N.: Comparison of a simple and a spatially distributed hydrologic model for the simulation of a lowland catchment in Northern Germany. Ecological Modelling, 209(1), 21–28, 2007. Jin, X. and Gao, J.: Modeling of Human Activities Impacts to Hydrological Process - Based on Distributed Hydrological model. Master thesis, Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2006. Lindenschmidt, K. E., Fleischbein, K., and Baborowski, M.: Structural uncertainty in a river water quality modelling system. Ecological Modelling 204, 289–300, 2007. Sponagel, H., Grottenthaler, W., and Hartmann, K.-J.: Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung, 5. verbesserte und erweiterte Au- flage, Hannover, p 438, 2005. Wesseling, C. G., Karssenberg, D. J., Burrough, P. A., and Van Deursen, W. P. A.: Integrated dynamic environmental models in GIS: The development of a Dynamic Modelling language. Transactions in GIS, 11, 4048, 1996. Zhang, X., Hörmann, G., and Fohrer, N.: The Effects of Different Model Complexity on the Quality of Discharge Simulation for a Lowland Catchment in Northern Germany. Heft 20.07 `Einfluss von Bewirtschaftung und Klima auf Wasser- und Stoffhaushalt von Gewässern', Band 2, Forum für Hydrologie und Wasserbewirtschaftung, ISBN: 978-3-940173-04-1, 2007. Zhao, R. and Liu, X.: The Xinanjiang Model, in: Computer models of watershed hydrology, edited by: Singh, V., Water Resources publications, Littleton, Colorado, 215–232, 1995.