On the runoff validation of ‘Global BROOK90’ automatic modeling framework

Abstract

Abstract The recently presented Global BROOK90 automatic modeling framework combines a non-calibrated lumped hydrological model with ERA5 reanalysis data as the main driver, as well as with global elevation, land cover and soil datasets. The focus is to simulate the water fluxes within the soil–water–plant system of a single plot or of a small catchment especially in data-scarce regions. The comparison to runoff is an obvious choice for the validation of this approach. Thus, we choose for validation 190 small catchments (with a median size of 64 km2) with discharge observations available within a time period of 1979–2020 and located all over the globe. They represent a wide range of relief, land cover and soil types within all climate zones. The simulation performance was analyzed with standard skill-score criteria: Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency, Kling–Gupta Efficiency, Kling–Gupta Efficiency Skill Score and Mean Absolute Error. Overall, the framework performed well (better than mean flow prediction) in more than 75% of the cases (KGESS > 0) and significantly better on a monthly rather than on a daily scale. Furthermore, it was found that Global BROOK90 outperforms GloFAS-ERA5 discharge reanalysis. Additionally, cluster analysis revealed that some of the catchment characteristics have a significant influence on the framework performance.