In:
Geoscientific Model Development, Copernicus GmbH, Vol. 14, No. 12 ( 2021-11-30), p. 7223-7254
Abstract:
Abstract. Recent advancements in computational efficiency and Earth system modeling have awarded hydrologists with increasingly high-resolution models of
terrestrial hydrology, which are paramount to understanding and predicting complex fluxes of moisture and energy. Continental-scale hydrologic
simulations are, in particular, of interest to the hydrologic community for numerous societal, scientific, and operational benefits. The coupled
hydrology–land surface model ParFlow–CLM configured over the continental United States (PFCONUS) has been employed in previous literature to study
scale-dependent connections between water table depth, topography, recharge, and evapotranspiration, as well as to explore impacts of anthropogenic
aquifer depletion to the water and energy balance. These studies have allowed for an unprecedented process-based understanding of the continental
water cycle at high resolution. Here, we provide the most comprehensive evaluation of PFCONUS version 1.0 (PFCONUSv1) performance to date by comparing
numerous modeled water balance components with thousands of in situ observations and several remote sensing products and using a range of
statistical performance metrics for evaluation. PFCONUSv1 comparisons with these datasets are a promising indicator of model fidelity and ability to
reproduce the continental-scale water balance at high resolution. Areas for improvement are identified, such as a positive streamflow bias at gauges
in the eastern Great Plains, a shallow water table bias over many areas of the model domain, and low bias in seasonal total water storage amplitude,
especially for the Ohio, Missouri, and Arkansas River basins. We discuss several potential sources for model bias and suggest that minimizing error
in topographic processing and meteorological forcing would considerably improve model performance. Results here provide a benchmark and guidance for
further PFCONUS model development, and they highlight the importance of concurrently evaluating all hydrologic components and fluxes to provide a
multivariate, holistic validation of the complete modeled water balance.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1991-9603
DOI:
10.5194/gmd-14-7223-2021
DOI:
10.5194/gmd-14-7223-2021-supplement
Language:
English
Publisher:
Copernicus GmbH
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2456725-5
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