Probabilistic calibration of a distributed hydrological model for flood forecasting     

L. Mediero  L. Garrote  F. J. Martín-Carrasco 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(7):1129-1149

Abstract

The complexity of distributed hydrological models has led to improvements in calibration methodologies in recent years. There are various manual, automatic and hybrid methods of calibration. Most use a single objective function to calculate estimation errors. The use of multi-objective calibration improves results, since different aspects of the hydrograph may be considered simultaneously. However, the uncertainty of estimates from a hydrological model can only be taken into account by using a probabilistic approach. This paper presents a calibration method of probabilistic nature, based on the determination of probability functions that best characterize different parameters of the model. The method was applied to the Real-time Interactive Basin Simulator (RIBS) distributed hydrological model using the Manzanares River basin in Spain as a case study. The proposed method allows us to consider the uncertainty in the model estimates by obtaining the probability distributions of flows in the flood hydrograph.

Citation Mediero, L., Garrote, L. & Martín-Carrasco, F. J. (2011) Probabilistic calibration of a distributed hydrological model for flood forecasting. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(7), 1129–1149.  相似文献   

Effect of modelling scale on the assessment of climate change impact on river runoff     

Mikołaj Piniewski  Frank Voss  Ilona Bärlund  Tomasz Okruszko  Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(4):737-754

Abstract

The effect of using two distributed hydrological models with different degrees of spatial aggregation on the assessment of climate change impact on river runoff was investigated. Analyses were conducted in the Narew River basin situated in northeast Poland using a global hydrological model (WaterGAP) and a catchment-scale hydrological model (SWAT). Climate change was represented in both models by projected changes in monthly temperature and precipitation between the period 2040–2069 and the baseline period, resulting from two general circulation models: IPSL-CM4 and MIROC3.2, both coupled with the SRES A2 emissions scenario. The degree of consistency between the global and the catchment model was very high for mean annual runoff, and medium for indicators of high and low runoff. It was observed that SWAT generally suggests changes of larger magnitude than WaterGAP for both climate models, but SWAT and WaterGAP were consistent as regards the direction of change in monthly runoff. The results indicate that a global model can be used in Central and Eastern European lowlands to identify hot-spots where a catchment-scale model should be applied to evaluate, e.g. the effectiveness of management options.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor F.F. Hattermann

Citation Piniewski, M., Voss, F., Bärlund, I., Okruszko, T., and Kundzewicz. Z.W., 2013. Effect of modelling scale on the assessment of climate change impact on river runoff. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (4), 737–754.  相似文献   

BIBLIOGRAPHY—BIBLIOGRAPHIE     

Jiahu Wang  Li Li  Jonathan J. Gourley  Sadiq I. Khan  Koray K. Yilmaz 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(1):84-98

Abstract

The Coupled Routing and Excess STorage model (CREST, jointly developed by the University of Oklahoma and NASA SERVIR) is a distributed hydrological model developed to simulate the spatial and temporal variation of land surface, and subsurface water fluxes and storages by cell-to-cell simulation. CREST's distinguishing characteristics include: (1) distributed rainfall–runoff generation and cell-to-cell routing; (2) coupled runoff generation and routing via three feedback mechanisms; and (3) representation of sub-grid cell variability of soil moisture storage capacity and sub-grid cell routing (via linear reservoirs). The coupling between the runoff generation and routing mechanisms allows detailed and realistic treatment of hydrological variables such as soil moisture. Furthermore, the representation of soil moisture variability and routing processes at the sub-grid scale enables the CREST model to be readily scalable to multi-scale modelling research. This paper presents the model development and demonstrates its applicability for a case study in the Nzoia basin located in Lake Victoria, Africa.

Citation Wang, J., Yang, H., Li, L., Gourley, J. J., Sadiq, I. K., Yilmaz, K. K., Adler, R. F., Policelli, F. S., Habib, S., Irwn, D., Limaye, A. S., Korme, T. &; Okello, L. (2011) The coupled routing and excess storage (CREST) distributed hydrological model. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(1), 84–98.  相似文献   

Incorporating uncertainty in hydrological predictions for gauged and ungauged basins in southern Africa     

E. Kapangaziwiri  D.A. Hughes  T. Wagener 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(5):1000-1019

Abstract

The increasing demand for water in southern Africa necessitates adequate quantification of current freshwater resources. Watershed models are the standard tool used to generate continuous estimates of streamflow and other hydrological variables. However, the accuracy of the results is often not quantified, and model assessment is hindered by a scarcity of historical observations. Quantifying the uncertainty in hydrological estimates would increase the value and credibility of predictions. A model-independent framework aimed at achieving consistency in incorporating and analysing uncertainty within water resources estimation tools in gauged and ungauged basins is presented. Uncertainty estimation in ungauged basins is achieved via two strategies: a local approach for a priori model parameter estimation from physical catchment characteristics, and a regional approach to regionalize signatures of catchment behaviour that can be used to constrain model outputs. We compare these two sources of information in the data-scarce region of South Africa. The results show that both approaches are capable of uncertainty reduction, but that their relative values vary.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis

Citation Kapangaziwiri, E., Hughes, D.A., and Wagener, T., 2012. Incorporating uncertainty in hydrological predictions for gauged and ungauged basins in southern Africa. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (5), 1000–1019.  相似文献   

Testing the robustness of the physically-based ECOMAG model with respect to changing conditions   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

A. Gelfan  Yu Motovilov  I. Krylenko  V. Moreido  E. Zakharova 《水文科学杂志》2015,60(7-8):1266-1285

Abstract

The robustness of the physically-based, semi-distributed hydrological model ECOMAG with respect to changing (climatic or land-use) conditions was evaluated for two basins, considered within the modelling workshop held in the frame of the 2013 IAHS conference in Göteborg, Sweden. The first basin, the Garonne River basin, France, is characterized mostly by changes in climatic conditions, while the second, Obyån Creek, Sweden, was exposed to drastic land cover change due to deforestation. Tests were conducted to evaluate the model’s ability to simulate with acceptable accuracy the changing hydrological regime of each basin and to retain, in the process, relatively stable values of the parameters. Acceptable performance of the ECOMAG model was obtained under the different combinations of the calibration/evaluation periods, including, importantly, the periods of hydrological regime changes in both basins.  相似文献   

Testing the robustness of the physically-based ECOMAG model with respect to changing conditions     

A. Gelfan  Yu Motovilov  I. Krylenko  V. Moreido  E. Zakharova 《水文科学杂志》2020,65(Z1):1266-1285

Abstract

The robustness of the physically-based, semi-distributed hydrological model ECOMAG with respect to changing (climatic or land-use) conditions was evaluated for two basins, considered within the modelling workshop held in the frame of the 2013 IAHS conference in Göteborg, Sweden. The first basin, the Garonne River basin, France, is characterized mostly by changes in climatic conditions, while the second, Obyån Creek, Sweden, was exposed to drastic land cover change due to deforestation. Tests were conducted to evaluate the model’s ability to simulate with acceptable accuracy the changing hydrological regime of each basin and to retain, in the process, relatively stable values of the parameters. Acceptable performance of the ECOMAG model was obtained under the different combinations of the calibration/evaluation periods, including, importantly, the periods of hydrological regime changes in both basins.  相似文献   

Sensitivity of hydrological models to uncertainty in rainfall input     

Patrick Arnaud  Jacques Lavabre  Catherine Fouchier  Stéphanie Diss  Pierre Javelle 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(3):397-410

Abstract

Different approaches used in hydrological modelling are compared in terms of the way each one takes the rainfall data into account. We examine the errors associated with accounting for rainfall variability, whether in hydrological modelling (distributed vs lumped models) or in computing catchment rainfall, as well as the impact of each approach on the representativeness of the parameters it uses. The database consists of 1859 rainfall events, distributed on 500 basins, located in the southeast of France with areas ranging from 6.2 to 2851 km². The study uses as reference the hydrographs computed by a distributed hydrological model from radar rainfall. This allows us to compare and to test the effects of various simplifications to the process when taking rainfall information (complete rain field vs sampled rainfall) and rainfall–runoff modelling (lumped vs distributed) into account. The results appear to show that, in general, the sampling effect can lead to errors in discharge at the outlet that are as great as, or even greater than, those one would get with a fully lumped approach. We found that small catchments are more sensitive to the uncertainties in catchment rainfall input generated by sampling rainfall data as seen through a raingauge network. Conversely, the larger catchments are more sensitive to uncertainties generated when the spatial variability of rainfall events is not taken into account. These uncertainties can be compensated for relatively easily by recalibrating the parameters of the hydrological model, although such recalibrations cause the parameter in question to completely lose physical meaning.

Citation Arnaud, P., Lavabre, J., Fouchier, C., Diss, S. & Javelle, P. (2011) Sensitivity of hydrological models to uncertainty of rainfall input. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(3), 397–410.  相似文献   

Hydrological modelling of temporally-varying catchments: facets of change and the value of information     

A. Efstratiadis  I. Nalbantis  D. Koutsoyiannis 《水文科学杂志》2015,60(7-8):1438-1461

Abstract

River basins are by definition temporally-varying systems: changes are apparent at every temporal scale, in terms of changing meteorological inputs and catchment characteristics due to inherently uncertain natural processes and anthropogenic interventions. In an operational context, the ultimate goal of hydrological modelling is predicting responses of the basin under conditions that are similar or different to those observed in the past. Since water management studies require that anthropogenic effects are considered known and a long hypothetical period is simulated, the combined use of stochastic models, for generating the inputs, and deterministic models that also represent the human interventions in modified basins, is found to be a powerful approach for providing realistic and statistically consistent simulations (in terms of product moments and correlations, at multiple time scales, and long-term persistence). The proposed framework is investigated on the Ferson Creek basin (USA) that exhibits significantly growing urbanization during the last 30 years. Alternative deterministic modelling options include a lumped water balance model with one time-varying parameter and a semi-distributed scheme based on the concept of hydrological response units. Model inputs and errors are respectively represented through linear and nonlinear stochastic models. The resulting nonlinear stochastic framework maximizes the exploitation of the existing information by taking advantage of the calibration protocol used in this issue.  相似文献   

Grid parameterization of a conceptual distributed hydrological model through integration of a sub-grid topographic index: necessity and practicability     

Jintao Liu  Xi Chen  Jichun Wu  Xingnan Zhang  Dezeng Feng  Chong-Yu Xu 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(2):282-297

Abstract

Grid-based distributed models have become popular for describing spatial hydrological processes. However, the influence of non-homogeneity within a grid on streamflow simulation was not adequately addressed in the literature. In this study, we investigated how the statistical characteristics of soil moisture storage within a grid impacts on streamflow simulations. The spatial variation of the topographic index, TI, within a grid was used to determine parameter B of the statistical curve of soil moisture storage in the Xinanjiang model. For comparison of influences of the non-homogeneity within a grid on streamflow simulation, two parameterization schemes of soil moisture storage capacity were developed: a grid-parameterization scheme for a distributed model and a catchment-averaged scheme for a semi-distributed model. The practicability and usefulness of the grid-parameterization method were evaluated through model comparisons. The two models were applied in Jiangwan experimental catchment Zhejiang Province, China. Streamflow discharge data at the catchment outlet from 1971 to 1986 at different temporal resolutions, e.g. 15 min and daily time step, were used for model calibration and validation. Statistical results for different grid scales demonstrated that the mean and variation of TI and B decline significantly as the grid scale increases. The simulated streamflow discharges of the two models were similar and the semi-distributed model outperformed the distributed model slightly when the streamflow at the outlet of the catchment was used as the only basis for comparison. In addition, a relatively larger bias in the predicted discharges between these two models was observed along with an abrupt increase of soil moisture saturation ratio. A further analysis of the simulated soil moisture content distribution revealed that the distributed model can provide a reasonable representation of the variable source area concept, which was justified to some extent by the field experiment data.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis

Citation Liu, J.T., Chen, X., Wu, J.C., Zhang, X.N., Feng, D.Z. and Xu, C.-Y., 2012. Grid parameterization of a conceptual, distributed hydrological model through integration of a sub-grid topographic index: necessity and practicability. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (2), 282–297.  相似文献   

Catchment-scale storm velocity: quantification,scale dependence and effect on flood response     

Efthymios I. Nikolopoulos  Marco Borga  Davide Zoccatelli  Emmanouil N. Anagnostou 《水文科学杂志》2014,59(7):1363-1376

Abstract

The concept of “catchment-scale storm velocity” quantifies the rate of storm motion up and down the basin accounting for the interaction between the rainfall space–time variability and the structure of the drainage network. It provides an assessment of the impact of storm motion on flood shape. We evaluate the catchment-scale storm velocity for the 29 August 2003 extreme storm that occurred on the 700 km²-wide Fella River basin in the eastern Italian Alps. The storm was characterized by the high rate of motion of convective cells across the basin. Analysis is carried out for a set of basins that range in area from 8 to 623 km² to: (a) determine velocity magnitudes for different sub-basins; (b) examine the relationship of velocity with basin scale and (c) assess the impact of storm motion on simulated flood response. Two spatially distributed hydrological models of varying degree of complexity in the representation of the runoff generation processes are used to evaluate the effects of the storm velocity on flood modelling and investigate model dependencies of the results. It is shown that catchment-scale storm velocity has a non-linear dependence on basin scale and generally exhibits rather moderate values, in spite of the strong kinematic characteristics of individual storm elements. Consistently with these observations and for both models, hydrological simulations show that storm motion has an almost negligible effect on the flood response modelling.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Nikolopoulos, E.I., Borga, M., Zoccatelli, D., and Anagnostou, E.N., 2014. Catchment-scale storm velocity: quantification, scale dependence and effect on flood response. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1363–1376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.923889  相似文献   

River flow modelling: comparison of performance and evaluation of uncertainty using data-driven models and conceptual hydrological model     

Zhenghao?Zhang  Qiang?ZhangEmail author  Vijay?P.?Singh  Peijun?Shi 《Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment (SERRA)》2018,32(9):2667-2682

Hydrological and statistical models are playing an increasing role in hydrological forecasting, particularly for river basins with data of different temporal scales. In this study, statistical models, e.g. artificial neural networks, adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system, genetic programming, least squares support vector machine, multiple linear regression, were developed, based on parametric optimization methods such as particle swarm optimization (PSO), genetic algorithm (GA), and data-preprocessing techniques such as wavelet decomposition (WD) for river flow modelling using daily streamflow data from four hydrological stations for a period of 1954–2009. These models were used for 1-, 3- and 5-day streamflow forecasting and the better model was used for uncertainty evaluation using bootstrap resampling method. Meanwhile, a simple conceptual hydrological model GR4J was used to evaluate parametric uncertainty based on generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation method. Results indicated that: (1) GA and PSO did not help improve the forecast performance of the model. However, the hybrid model with WD significantly improved the forecast performance; (2) the hybrid model with WD as a data preprocessing procedure can clarify hydrological effects of water reservoirs and can capture peak high/low flow changes; (3) Forecast accuracy of data-driven models is significantly influenced by the availability of streamflow data. More human interferences from the upper to the lower East River basin can help to introduce greater uncertainty in streamflow forecasts; (4) The structure of GR4J may introduce larger parametric uncertainty at the Longchuan station than at the Boluo station in the East river basin. This study provides a theoretical background for data-driven model-based streamflow forecasting and a comprehensive view about data and parametric uncertainty in data-scarce river basins.  相似文献   

Terrestrial hydrological responses to precipitation variability in Southwest China with emphasis on drought     

Jun Niu  Ji Chen 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(2):325-335

Abstract

This study investigates the terrestrial hydrological processes during a dry climate period in Southwest China by analysing the frequency-dependent runoff and soil moisture responses to precipitation variability. Two headwater sub-basins, the Nanpan and Guihe basins of the West River (Xijiang), are studied to compare and contrast the terrestrial responses. The variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model is used to simulate the hydrological processes. Using wavelets, the relationships between observed precipitation and simulated runoff/soil moisture are expressed quantitatively. The results indicate that: (a) the Guihe basin shows a greater degree of high-frequency runoff variability in response to regional precipitation; and (b) the Nanpan basin exhibits less capability in accommodating/smoothing extreme precipitation deficits, reflected in terms of both higher scale-averaged (for 3–6 months) and time-averaged (for the year 1963) wavelet power of soil moisture.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor C.-Y. Xu

Citation Niu, J. and Chen, J., 2013. Terrestrial hydrological responses to precipitation variability in Southwest China with emphasis on drought. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (2), 325–335.  相似文献   

Hydrological behaviour of a drained agricultural peat catchment in the tropics. 2: Time series transfer function modelling approach     

Ayob Katimon  Shamsuddin Shahid  Ahmad Khairi Abd Wahab  Ani Shabri 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(6):1310-1325

Abstract

Transfer function models of the rainfall–runoff relationship with various complexities are developed to investigate the hydrological behaviour of a tropical peat catchment that has undergone continuous drainage for a long time. The study reveals that a linear transfer function model of order one and noise term of ARIMA (1,0,0) best represents the monthly rainfall–runoff relationship of a drained peat catchment. The best-fitted transfer function model is capable of illustrating the cumulative hydrological effects of the catchment when subjected to drainage. Transfer function models of daily rainfall–runoff relationships for each year of the period 1983–1993 are also developed to decipher the changes in hydrological behaviour of the catchment due to drainage. The results show that the amount of rain water temporarily stored in the peat soil decreased and the catchment has become more responsive to rainfall over the study period.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor D. Hughes

Citation Katimon, A., Shahid, S., Abd Wahab, A.K., and Shabri, A., 2013. Hydrological behaviour of a drained agricultural peat catchment in the tropics. 2: Time series transfer function modelling approach. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (6), 1310–1325.  相似文献   

Testing the applicability of a kinematic wave-based distributed hydrological model in two climatically contrasting catchments     

T. Tanaka  Y. Tachikawa 《水文科学杂志》2015,60(7-8):1361-1373

Abstract

Steep mountainous areas account for 70% of all river catchments in Japan. To predict river discharge for the mountainous catchments, many studies have applied distributed hydrological models based on a kinematic wave approximation with surface and subsurface flow components (DHM-KWSS). These models reproduce observed river discharge of catchments in Japan well; however, the applicability of a DHM-KWSS to catchments with different geographical and climatic conditions has not been sufficiently examined. This research applied a DHM-KWSS to two river basins that have different climatic conditions from basins in Japan to examine the transferability of the DHM-KWSS model structure. Our results show that the DHM-KWSS model structure explained flow regimes for a wet river basin as well as a large flood event in an arid basin; however, it was unable to explain long-term flow regimes for the arid basin case study.  相似文献   

Erosion modelling for land management in the Tahoe basin,USA: scaling from plots to forest catchments     

M.E. Grismer 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(5):878-900

Abstract

Recent developments in hydrological modelling of river basins are focused on prediction in ungauged basins, which implies the need to improve relationships between model parameters and easily-obtainable information, such as satellite images, and to test the transferability of model parameters. A large-scale distributed hydrological model is described, which has been used in several large river basins in Brazil. The model parameters are related to classes of physical characteristics, such as soil type, land use, geology and vegetation. The model uses two basin space units: square grids for flow direction along the basin and GRU—group response units—which are hydrological classes of the basin physical characteristics for water balance. Expected ranges of parameter values are associated with each of these classes during the model calibration. Results are presented of the model fitting in the Taquari-Antas River basin in Brazil (26 000 km² and 11 flow gauges). Based on this fitting, the model was then applied to the Upper Uruguay River basin (52 000 km²), having similar physical conditions, without any further calibration, in order to test the transferability of the model. The results in the Uruguay basin were compared with recorded flow data and showed relatively small errors, although a tendency to underestimate mean flows was found.  相似文献   

Simulating the daily discharge of the Mandovi River,west coast of India     

K. Suprit  D. Shankar  V. Venugopal  N.V. Bhatkar 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(4):686-704

Abstract

A hydrological modelling framework was assembled to simulate the daily discharge of the Mandovi River on the Indian west coast. Approximately 90% of the west-coast rainfall, and therefore discharge, occurs during the summer monsoon (June–September), with a peak during July–August. The modelling framework consisted of a digital elevation model (DEM) called GLOBE, a hydrological routing algorithm, the Terrestrial Hydrological Model with Biogeochemistry (THMB), an algorithm to map the rainfall recorded by sparse raingauges to the model grid, and a modified Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method. A series of discharge simulations (with and without the SCS method) was carried out. The best simulation was obtained after incorporating spatio-temporal variability in the SCS parameters, which was achieved by an objective division of the season into five regimes: the lean season, monsoon onset, peak monsoon, end-monsoon, and post-monsoon. A novel attempt was made to incorporate objectively the different regimes encountered before, during and after the Indian monsoon, into a hydrological modelling framework. The strength of our method lies in the low demand it makes on hydrological data. Apart from information on the average soil type in a region, the entire parameterization is built on the basis of the rainfall that is used to force the model. That the model does not need to be calibrated separately for each river is important, because most of the Indian west-coast basins are ungauged. Hence, even though the model has been validated only for the Mandovi basin, its potential region of application is considerable. In the context of the Prediction in Ungauged Basins (PUB) framework, the potential of the proposed approach is significant, because the discharge of these (ungauged) rivers into the eastern Arabian Sea is not small, making them an important element of the local climate system.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor S. Grimaldi

Citation Suprit, K., Shankar, D., Venugopal, V. and Bhatkar, N.V., 2012. Simulating the daily discharge of the Mandovi River, west coast of India. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (4), 686–704.  相似文献   

Hydrological regime of remote catchments with extreme gradients under accelerated change: the Baker basin in Patagonia     

Alejandro Dussaillant J.  Wouter Buytaert  Claudio Meier  Fabián Espinoza 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(8):1530-1542

Abstract

The Baker basin (27 000 km²) is located in one of the most pristine and remote areas of the planet. Its hydrological regime is poised to undergo dramatic changes in the near future due to hydropower development and climate change. The basin contains the second-largest lake in South America, and part of a major icefield. This study documents the natural baseline of the Baker River basin, discusses the main hydrological modes and analyses the potential for sustainable management. Annual precipitation varies several-fold from the eastern Patagonian steppes to the North Patagonian Icefield. The westernmost sub-basins are strongly governed by glacier melt with a peak discharge in the austral summer (January–March). The easternmost sub-basins have a much more seasonal response governed by quicker snowmelt in spring (November–December), while they exhibit low flows typical for semi-arid regions during summer and autumn. Topography, vegetation and wetlands may also influence streamflow. The strong spatio-temporal gradients and variability highlight the need for further monitoring, particularly in the headwaters, especially given the severe changes these basins are expected to undergo. The great diversity of hydrological controls and climate change pose significant challenges for hydrological prediction and management.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Citation Dussaillant, J.A., Buytaert, W., Meier, C., and Espinoza, F. 2012. Hydrological regime of remote catchments with extreme gradients under accelerated change: the Baker basin in Patagonia. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (8), 1530–1542.  相似文献   

Modelling climate and land-use change impacts with SWIM: lessons learnt from multiple applications     

Valentina Krysanova  Fred Hattermann  Shaochun Huang  Cornelia Hesse  Tobias Vetter  Stefan Liersch 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(4):606-635

Abstract

The Soil and Water Integrated Model (SWIM) is a continuous-time semi-distributed ecohydrological model, integrating hydrological processes, vegetation, nutrients and erosion. It was developed for impact assessment at the river basin scale. SWIM is coupled to GIS and has modest data requirements. During the last decade SWIM was extensively tested in mesoscale and large catchments for hydrological processes (discharge, groundwater), nutrients, extreme events (floods and low flows), crop yield and erosion. Several modules were developed further (wetlands and snow dynamics) or introduced (glaciers, reservoirs). After validation, SWIM can be applied for impact assessment. Four exemplary studies are presented here, and several questions important to the impact modelling community are discussed. For which processes and areas can the model be used? Where are the limits in model application? How to apply the model in data-poor situations or in ungauged basins? How to use the model in basins subject to strong anthropogenic pressure?