Abstract
The number of global open-source hydrometeorological datasets and models is large and growing. However, with a constantly growing demand for services and tools from stakeholders, not only in the water sector, we still lack simple solutions, which are easy to use for nonexperts. The new R package incorporates the BROOK90 hydrologic model and global open-source datasets used for parameterization and forcing. The aim is to estimate the vertical water fluxes within the soil–water–plant system of a single site or of a small catchment (<100 km2). This includes data scarce regions where no hydrometeorological measurements or reliable site characteristics can be obtained. The end-user only needs to provide a location and the desired period. The package automatically downloads the necessary datasets for elevation (Amazon Web Service Terrain Tiles), land cover (Copernicus: Land Cover 100 m), soil characteristics (ISRIC: SoilGrids250), and meteorological forcing (Copernicus: ERA5 reanalysis). Subsequently these datasets are processed, specific hydrotopes are created, and BROOK90 is applied. In a last step, the output data of all desired variables on a daily scale as well as time-series plots are stored. A first daily and monthly validation based on five catchments within various climate zones shows a decent representation of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and runoff components. A considerably better performance is achieved for a monthly scale.
Highlights
The range of global hydrological models and their applications is vast and growing
There are already a few global datasets with major components of the hydrological cycle available, which are regularly updated in operational mode (JRA-55 [12], MERRA2 [13], NCEP Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2) [14], ERA5 [15])
This study describes a new R package, which integrates the lumped physical water balance model
Summary
The range of global hydrological models and their applications is vast and growing. These models are covering almost every possible niche in stakeholder’s needs: from water/food security and management tools [1] to flood warning systems [2]. There are already a few global datasets with major components of the hydrological cycle (i.e., precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil water, runoff) available, which are regularly updated in operational mode (JRA-55 [12], MERRA2 [13], NCEP Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2) [14], ERA5 [15]). In this case, the resolution of the grid cells was approximately 50 km, which is mostly a
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