TY - JOUR
T1 - Rainfall characteristics define the value of streamflow observations for distributed watershed model identification
AU - van Werkhoven, Kathryn
AU - Wagener, Thorsten
AU - Reed, Patrick
AU - Tang, Yong
PY - 2008/6/14
Y1 - 2008/6/14
N2 - We present evidence that the characteristics of rainfall events strongly control the value of streamflow observations for the identification of distributed watershed models. A series of synthetic rainfall events with different spatio-temporal extents and dynamics are used to investigate spatially-distributed global parameter sensitivities for a typical watershed model. The model's parametric sensitivities vary greatly with rainfall distribution characteristics, location of the model cell in relation to the watershed's gauged outlet, and, to a lesser degree, the initial model states. This study demonstrates that the information content of streamflow is a dynamic property and that distributed model identification methodologies should consider the impact of spatio-temporal rainfall dynamics.
AB - We present evidence that the characteristics of rainfall events strongly control the value of streamflow observations for the identification of distributed watershed models. A series of synthetic rainfall events with different spatio-temporal extents and dynamics are used to investigate spatially-distributed global parameter sensitivities for a typical watershed model. The model's parametric sensitivities vary greatly with rainfall distribution characteristics, location of the model cell in relation to the watershed's gauged outlet, and, to a lesser degree, the initial model states. This study demonstrates that the information content of streamflow is a dynamic property and that distributed model identification methodologies should consider the impact of spatio-temporal rainfall dynamics.
U2 - 10.1029/2008GL034162
DO - 10.1029/2008GL034162
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
SN - 0094-8276
VL - 35
SP - -
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
IS - 11
M1 - L11403
ER -