The SWTools R package for SILO data acquisition, homogeneity testing and correction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rainfall is a fundamental input to water resources models. Data products are making rainfall data available in application ready formats. There is a temptation to adopt these datasets directly without undertaking thorough quality assurance checks. The SWTools R package is introduced to download, summarise, check and, if necessary, correct rainfall data from a commonly used data product in Australia, the SILO database. A case study is presented where interpolation to extend a dataset after a station closed introduced non-homogeneity when compared to adjacent sites. SWTools functions are used to identify this change and apply corrections to the data. Calibrating a rainfall–runoff model to the datasets with and without corrections had a substantial influence on the simulated water availability in the catchment, with a 30% reduction in average runoff after the rainfall corrections. This case study highlights the importance of undertaking data quality assurance checks, particularly when applying a model outside the calibration period.