The influence of distributed input data on the hydrological modelling of monthly river flow regimes in West Africa

• Published in: Hydrological sciences journal Vol. 48; no. 6; pp. 881 - 890
• Main Authors: PATUREL, J. E., OUEDRAOGO, M., MAHE, G., SERVAT, E., DEZETTER, A., ARDOIN, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wallingford Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.2003; IAHS Press
• Subjects: Afrique de l'Ouest; capacité de rétention en eau du sol; données hydroclimatologiques; débits; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; hydroclimatological data; hydrological modelling; Hydrology; Hydrology. Hydrogeology; modélisation hydrologique; modélisation régionale; potential evapotranspiration; précipitations; rainfall; regional modelling; runoff; soil water holding capacity; West Africa; évapotranspiration potentielle; Burkina Faso; Ivory Coast; Mali; West Africa; rivers; drainage basins; rainfall; hydrological modeling; atmospheric precipitation; Africa; discharge; evapotranspiration; soils; retention
• ISSN: 0262-6667; 2150-3435
• DOI: 10.1623/hysj.48.6.881.51422

An extensive data collection exercise was undertaken for an area mainly covering Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali. This exercise led to the development of three gridded monthly rainfall surfaces and three monthly potential evapotranspiration (PET) surfaces. Two semi-distributed hydrological models were used for the analysis. Both models utilize soil data which can be defined as being close to a Soil Water Holding Capacity (SWHC). For this, two gridded data sets were used. When applied to different catchments covering geographically close hydrographical areas, but sometimes with distinct characteristics, the models produced results that varied according to the input data sets, catchment characteristics and model structure. These preliminary results highlight the important influence of the nature and origin of input data for hydrological modelling in Africa.