Many environmental systems models, such as conceptual rainfall-runoff models, rely on model calibration for parameter identification. For this, an observed output time series (such as runoff) is needed, but frequently not available (e.g., when making predictions in ungauged basins). In this study, we provide an alternative approach for parameter identification using constraints based on two types of restrictions derived from prior (or expert) knowledge. The first, called parameter constraints, restricts the solution space based on realistic relationships that must hold between the different model parameters while the second, called process constraints requires that additional realism relationships between the fluxes and state variables must be satisfied. Specifically, we propose a search algorithm for finding parameter sets that simultaneously satisfy such constraints, based on stepwise sampling of the parameter space. Such parameter sets have the desirable property of being consistent with the modeler's intuition of how the catchment functions, and can (if necessary) serve as prior information for further investigations by reducing the prior uncertainties associated with both calibration and prediction.
Water Resources Section, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands; Public Research Center-Gabriel Lippmann, Belvaux, Luxembourg; Department of Water Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran; UFZ Andndash; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany; Eawag Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
Recommended Citation:
Gharari S,, Shafiei M,, Hrachowitz M,et al. A constraint-based search algorithm for parameter identification of environmental models[J]. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences,2014-01-01,18(12)