| Title: | A comparative assessment of hydrological models in the Upper Cauvery catchment |
| Authors: | Horan, R., R. Gowri, P.S. Wable, H. Baron, V.D.J. Keller, K.K. Garg, P.P. Mujumdar, H. Houghton-Carr and G. Rees |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Journal: | Water |
| Volume (Issue): | 13(2) |
| Pages: | |
| Article ID: | 151 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/w13020151 |
| URL (non-DOI journals): | |
| Model: | SWAT |
| Broad Application Category: | hydrologic only |
| Primary Application Category: | model and/or data comparison |
| Secondary Application Category: | calibration, sensitivity, and/or uncertainty analysis |
| Watershed Description: | Five subwatersheds ranging in size from 1,330 to 10,619 km^2, located within the Upper Cauvery drainage area in southwest India. |
| Calibration Summary: | |
| Validation Summary: | |
| General Comments: | |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a comparison of the predictive capability of three hydrological models,
and a mean ensemble of these models, in a heavily influenced catchment in Peninsular India:
GWAVA (Global Water AVailability Assessment) model, SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool) and
VIC (Variable Infiltration Capacity) model. The performance of the three models and their ensemble
were investigated in five sub-catchments in the upstream reaches of the Cauvery river catchment.
Model performances for monthly streamflow simulations from 1983–2005 were analysed using
Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, Kling-Gupta efficiency and percent bias. The predictive capability for each
model was compared, and the ability to accurately represent key catchment hydrological processes
is discussed. This highlighted the importance of an accurate spatial representation of precipitation
for input into hydrological models, and that comprehensive reservoir functionality is paramount
to obtaining good results in this region. The performance of the mean ensemble was analysed to
determine whether the application of a multi-model ensemble approach can be useful in overcoming
the uncertainties associated with individual models. It was demonstrated that the ensemble mean
has a better predictive ability in catchments with reservoirs than the individual models, with Nash-
Sutcliffe values between 0.49 and 0.92. Therefore, utilising multiple models could be a suitable
methodology to offset uncertainty in input data and poor reservoir operation functionality within
individual models. |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | Cauvery; hydrological modelling; VIC; SWAT; GWAVA; ensemble modelling; water resources |