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Simulation of streamflow by a regionalized lumped rainfall–runoff model over Luxembourg

 

B. Hingray1, F. Guex1, D. Guex1, S. Pugin1, A. Musy1, L. Pfister2, A. Idrissi2, J. F. Iffly2 & L. Hoffmann2

 

1 Hydrology and Land Improvement Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL, CH 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

benoit.hingray@epfl.ch

2 CREBS-Cellule de Recherche en Environnement et Biotechnologies, Centre de Recherche Public – Gabriel Lippmann, 162a Avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

 

Abstract A parsimonious hydrological model was applied to simulate continuous discharge series on 17 gauged sub-catchments of the Alzette Basin in Luxembourg. The model has only three calibration parameters: the two first Model Parameters (MPs) are involved in the flow production process and in the baseflow reconstitution, while the third governs the quick flow component. The calibrated MP values obtained for nine calibration catchments were regionalized for the Alzette physiographic and hydrological area and regional equations were derived from a stepwise regression analysis linking these MP values to different Catchment Physical Characteristics (CPCs). To allow for a robust regionalized model, a manual two-step and bi-signal calibration procedure was applied to determine the optimal MP for each calibration catchment. The regionalization was next improved using the observed correlation between two parameters. The regional equations obtained produce both hydrological meaning and statistical significance. The regionalized model was evaluated on the eight gauged catchments that were not used for the development of the relationships between MPs and CPCs.

 

Key words  flow simulation; parameter regionalization; rainfall–runoff; reservoir based model