Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE
Volume 89, Issue -, Pages 144-158Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.11.024
Keywords
Snow hydrology; Parameter sensitivity; Snow modeling; Snow water equivalent; Model performance; Sobol' sensitivity analysis
Categories
Funding
- University of Colorado Boulder, Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department
- National Science Foundation [CNS-0821794]
- University of Colorado Boulder
- University of Colorado Denver
- National Center for Atmospheric Research
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study advances model diagnostics for snowmelt-based hydrological systems using Sobol' sensitivity analysis, illuminating parameter sensitivities and contrasting model structural differences. We consider several distinct snow-dominated locations in the western United States, running both SNOW-17, a conceptual degree-day model, and the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) snow model, a physically based model. Model performance is rigorously evaluated through global sensitivity analysis and a temperature warming analysis is conducted to explore how model parameterizations affect portrayals of climate change. Both VIC and SNOW-17 produce comparable results with SNOW-17 performing slightly better for shallower snowpacks and VIC performing better for deeper snowpacks. However, the lack of sensitivity of SNOW-17 to climate warming suggests that it may not be as reliable as a more sensitive model like VIC. Inter-model differences presented here offer insights into physical features with greatest uncertainty and may inform future model development and planning activities. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available