Abstract
Abstract. Hydrological catchment models are important tools that are commonly used as the basis for water resource management planning. In the 1960s and 1970s, the development of several relatively simple models to simulate catchment runoff started, and a number of so-called conceptual (or bucket-type) models were suggested. In these models, the complex and heterogeneous hydrological processes in a catchment are represented by a limited number of storage elements and the fluxes between them. While computer limitations were a major motivation for such relatively simple models in the early days, some of these models are still used frequently despite the vast increase in computational opportunities. The HBV (Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning) model, which was first applied about 50 years ago in Sweden, is a typical example of a conceptual catchment model and has gained large popularity since its inception. During several model intercomparisons, the HBV model performed well despite (or because of) its relatively simple model structure. Here, the history of model development, from thoughtful considerations of different model structures to modelling studies using hundreds of catchments and cloud computing facilities, is described. Furthermore, the wide range of model applications is discussed. The aim is to provide an understanding of the background of model development and a basis for addressing the balance between model complexity and data availability that will also face hydrologists in the coming decades.
Highlights
The fundamental questions to hydrologists have remained similar over the past decades
At that time, some researchers were already arguing that simple models such as the HBV model were ideal for simulating catchment runoff, whereas more complex models should mainly be used for applications in which other variables were of interest (Beven, 1989; Refsgaard and Knudsen, 1996)
Sten and Jan: “Good questions! We will try to address these in this paper, in which we describe the history of model development, from thoughtful considerations of the formulation of different model structures to modelling studies using hundreds of catchments and cloud computing facilities
Summary
The fundamental questions to hydrologists have remained similar over the past decades. – Around 1970, students were told that “We need to simulate runoff – go and construct a hydrological catchment model.”. Imagine Sten, Jan and a student, who is working on her (or his) PhD thesis, discussing hydrological modelling (Fig. 1). Student: “And the performance measure R2, which is so often confused with r2?” Sten and Jan: “That was not us; blame Nash and Sutcliffe and their classic publication on hydrological modelling (Nash and Sutcliffe, 1970). Student: “It seems that a lot of researchers are using HBV these days, weren’t there other conceptual models developed in the 1970s–1990s?” Sten: “Yes, there were several. These types of applications were, for a long time, considered impossible with a conceptual type of model like HBV. We show that the HBV model performed surprisingly well during several model intercomparisons, and we discuss the wide range of model applications.”
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