Calibration of a semi-distributed model for conjunctive simulation of surface and groundwater flows / Calage d’un modèle semi-distribué pour la simulation conjointe d’écoulements superficiels et souterrains

Abstract

A hydrological simulation model was developed for conjunctive representation of surface and groundwater processes. It comprises a conceptual soil moisture accounting module, based on an enhanced version of the Thornthwaite model for the soil moisture reservoir, a Darcian multi-cell groundwater flow module and a module for partitioning water abstractions among water resources. The resulting integrated scheme is highly flexible in the choice of time (i.e. monthly to daily) and space scales (catchment scale, aquifer scale). Model calibration involved successive phases of manual and automatic sessions. For the latter, an innovative optimization method called evolutionary annealing-simplex algorithm is devised. The objective function involves weighted goodness-of-fit criteria for multiple variables with different observation periods, as well as penalty terms for restricting unrealistic water storage trends and deviations from observed intermittency of spring flows. Checks of the unmeasured catchment responses through manually changing parameter bounds guided choosing final parameter sets. The model is applied to the particularly complex Boeoticos Kephisos basin, Greece, where it accurately reproduced the main basin response, i.e. the runoff at its outlet, and also other important components. Emphasis is put on the principle of parsimony which resulted in a computationally effective modelling. This is crucial since the model is to be integrated within a stochastic simulation framework.