Uncertainty in high and low flows due to model structure and parameter errors

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the uncertainty in simulated extreme low and high flows originating from hydrological model structure and parameters. To this end, three different rainfall-runoff models, namely GR4J, HBV and Xinanjiang, are applied to two subbasins of Qiantang River basin, eastern China. The Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation approach is used for estimating the uncertainty of the three models due to parameter values, henceforth referred as parameter uncertainty. Uncertainty in simulated extreme flows is evaluated by means of the annual maximum discharge and mean annual 7-day minimum discharge. The results show that although the models have good performance for the daily flows, the uncertainty in the extreme flows could not be neglected. The uncertainty originating from parameters is larger than uncertainty due to model structure. The parameter uncertainty of the extreme flows increases with the observed discharge. The parameter uncertainty in both the extreme high flows and the extreme low flows is the largest for the HBV model and the smallest for the Xinanjiang model. It is noted that the extreme low flows are mostly underestimated by all models with optimum parameter sets for both subbasins. The largest underestimation is from Xinanjiang model. Therefore it is not reliable enough to use only one set of the parameters to make the prediction and carrying out the uncertainty study in the extreme discharge simulation could give an overall picture for the planners.