Title: | Multi-objective validation of SWAT for sparsely-gauged West African river basins - A remote sensing approach |
Authors: | Poméon, T., B. Diekkrüger, A. Springer, J. Kusche and A. Eicker |
Year: | 2018 |
Journal: | Water |
Volume (Issue): | 10(4) |
Pages: | |
Article ID: | 451 |
DOI: | 10.3390/w10040451 |
URL (non-DOI journals): | |
Model: | SWAT |
Broad Application Category: | hydrologic only |
Primary Application Category: | calibration, sensitivity, and/or uncertainty analysis |
Secondary Application Category: | evapotranspiration assessment |
Watershed Description: | 11 River systems that cover areas ranging from 1,753 km^2 to 2,246,220 km^2, which drain a total of 3,437,856 km^2 across 18 countries in northwest Africa. |
Calibration Summary: | |
Validation Summary: | |
General Comments: | |
Abstract: | Predicting freshwater resources is a major concern in West Africa, where large parts of the
population depend on rain-fed subsistence agriculture. However, a steady decline in the availability
of in-situ measurements of climatic and hydrologic variables makes it difficult to simulate water
resource availability with hydrological models. In this study, a modeling framework was set up
for sparsely-gauged catchments in West Africa using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT),
whilst largely relying on remote sensing and reanalysis inputs. The model was calibrated using two
different strategies and validated using discharge measurements. New in this study is the use of
a multi-objective validation conducted to further investigate the performance of the model, where
simulated actual evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and total water storage were evaluated using
remote sensing data. Results show that the model performs well (R2 calibration: 0.52 and 0.51;
R2 validation: 0.63 and 0.61) and the multi-objective validation reveals good agreement between
predictions and observations. The study reveals the potential of using remote sensing data in
sparsely-gauged catchments, resulting in good performance and providing data for evaluating water
balance components that are not usually validated. The modeling framework presented in this study
is the basis for future studies, which will address model response to extreme drought and flood
events and further examine the coincidence with Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
total water storage retrievals. |
Language: | English |
Keywords: | SWAT hydrological model; GRACE total water storage; MODIS evapotranspiration;
ESA-CCI soil moisture; modeling framework |