Step Wise, Multiple Objective Calibration of a Hydrologic Model for a Snowmelt Dominated Basin

• Published in: Journal of the American Water Resources Association Vol. 42; no. 4; pp. 877 - 890
• Main Authors: Hay, L.E, Leavesley, G.H, Clark, M.P, Markstrom, S.L, Viger, R.J, Umemoto, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2006; American Water Resources Association
• Subjects: calibration; Colorado; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; evapotranspiration; Exact sciences and technology; Freshwater; hydrologic models; Hydrology. Hydrogeology; optimization; potential evapotranspiration; precipitation; Precipitation Runoff Modeling System; rivers; runoff; Shuffled Complex Evolution; simulation models; snowmelt; solar radiation; U.S. Geological Survey; water balance; Water resources; watersheds; Yampa River; Colorado; United States; Yampa River; USA, Colorado, Yampa R; USA, Colorado; algorithms; models; atmospheric precipitation; simulation; runoff; solar radiation; water balance; evapotranspiration; North America; meltwater; potential evapotranspiration; optimization; snow; Colorado; water resource management; Shuffled Complex Evolution; Precipitation Runoff Modeling System; strategy; calibration; hydrographs
• ISSN: 1093-474X; 1752-1688
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2006.tb04501.x

The ability to apply a hydrologic model to large numbers of basins for forecasting purposes requires a quick and effective calibration strategy. This paper presents a step wise, multiple objective, automated procedure for hydrologic model calibration. This procedure includes the sequential calibration of a model\'s simulation of solar radiation (SR), potential evapotranspiration (PET), water balance, and daily runoff. The procedure uses the Shuffled Complex Evolution global search algorithm to calibrate the U.S. Geological Survey\'s Precipitation Runoff Modeling System in the Yampa River basin of Colorado. This process assures that intermediate states of the model (SR and PET on a monthly mean basis), as well as the water balance and components of the daily hydrograph are simulated consistently with measured values.