Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2017-750
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2017-750
14 Feb 2018
 | 14 Feb 2018
Status: this discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.

Improving river flow generation over Great Britain in a land surface model required for coupled land-atmosphere interactions

Alberto Martínez-de la Torre, Eleanor M. Blyth, and Graham P. Weedon

Abstract. Land surface models (LSMs) represent terrestrial hydrology in weather and climate modelling operational systems and research studies. Using river flow observations from gauge stations, we study the capability of the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) LSM to simulate river flow over 13 catchments in Great Britain, each representing different climatic and topographic characteristics at the 1 km2 spatial resolution. A series of tests, carried out to identify where the model results are sensitive to the scheme and parameters chosen for runoff production, suggests that different catchments require different parameters and even different runoff schemes to produce the best results. From these results, we introduce a new topographical parametrization that produces the best daily river flow results (in terms of Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and mean bias) for all 13 catchments. The new parametrization introduces a dependency on terrain slope, constraining surface runoff production to wet soil conditions over flatter regions (like the Thames catchment; Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency above 0.8), whereas over steeper regions the model produces surface runoff for every rainfall event regardless of the soil wetness state. This new parametrization improves the model capability in regional (Great Britain wide) assessments. The new choice of parameters is reinforced by examining the amplitude and phase of the modelled versus observed river flows, via cross-spectral analysis for time scales longer than daily.

Alberto Martínez-de la Torre, Eleanor M. Blyth, and Graham P. Weedon
 
Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
Alberto Martínez-de la Torre, Eleanor M. Blyth, and Graham P. Weedon
Alberto Martínez-de la Torre, Eleanor M. Blyth, and Graham P. Weedon

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Short summary
Land surface interactions with the atmosphere are key for weather and climate modelling studies, both in research and in the operational systems that provide scientific tools for decision makers. Regional assessments will be influenced by the characteristics of the land. We improved the representation of Great Britain river flows by including a dependency on terrain slope. This development will be reflected not only in river flows, but in the whole water cycle represented by the model/system.