Abstract
Abstract. Large-scale hydrologic forecasts should account for attenuation through lakes and reservoirs when flow regulation is present. Globally generalized methods for approximating outflow are required but must contend with operational complexity and a dearth of information on dam characteristics at global spatial scales. There is currently no consensus on the best approach for approximating reservoir release rates in large spatial scale hydrologic forecasting, particularly at diurnal time steps. This research compares two parsimonious reservoir routing methods at daily steps: Döll et al. (2003) and Hanasaki et al. (2006). These reservoir routing methods have been previously implemented in large-scale hydrologic modeling applications and have been typically evaluated seasonally. These routing methods are compared across 60 reservoirs operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The authors vary empirical coefficients for both reservoir routing methods as part of a sensitivity analysis. The method proposed by Döll et al. (2003) outperformed that presented by Hanasaki et al. (2006) at a daily time step and improved model skill over most run-of-the-river conditions. The temporal resolution of the model influences model performances. The optimal model coefficients varied across the reservoirs in this study and model performance fluctuates between wet years and dry years, and for different configurations such as dams in series. Overall, the method proposed by Döll et al. (2003) could enhance large-scale hydrologic forecasting, but can be subject to instability under certain conditions.
Highlights
1.1 Importance of dams in hydrologic simulationsImprovements in numerical weather prediction, the increasing abundance of computational power, and greater precision of remotely sensed observations make global hydrologic forecasting and flood warning systems increasingly feasible (Alfieri et al, 2013; Wu et al, 2014; Emerton et al, 2016; Salas et al, 2017)
This research compares two parsimonious reservoir routing methods (D03 and H06) with the intent to determine if these methods can be effective at estimating diurnal reservoir outflow in diurnal, medium-range streamflow forecasting
These methods were compared across 60 U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operated reservoirs at a daily time step
Summary
Improvements in numerical weather prediction, the increasing abundance of computational power, and greater precision of remotely sensed observations make global hydrologic forecasting and flood warning systems increasingly feasible (Alfieri et al, 2013; Wu et al, 2014; Emerton et al, 2016; Salas et al, 2017). Impoundments significantly influence the downstream flow regime at small and large spatial scales (Batalla et al, 2004; Magilligan and Nislow, 2005). Over half of the world’s large river systems are substantially altered by dams (Nilsson et al, 2005) resulting in a sevenfold increase in water storage within the global river system (Vörösmarty et al, 1997). The cumulative alterations from global reservoir impoundments are so significant that it has been suggested that they could buffer global sealevel rise (Chao et al, 2008)
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