Analysing the Performance of Four Hydrological Models in a Chinese Arid and Semi-Arid Catchment

Hengxu Jin, Xiaoping Rui and Xiaoyan Li
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Hengxu Jin: School of Geomatics, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin 123000, China
Xiaoping Rui: College of Earth and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Xiaoyan Li: School of Geomatics, Liaoning Technical University, Fuxin 123000, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Frequent flood hazards in the Raoyang River Basin in western Liaoning, China, have posed serious threats to people’s lives and property. In an effort to study the simulation efficiencies of hydrological models in this arid and semi-arid catchment, this study examined the performance of the Xin’anjiang model, the Liaoning unsaturated model, and the DHF model in the Dongbaichengzi station watershed in the upper reaches of the Raoyang River, China. Additionally, this paper proposed an improved DHF model, which considers the impoundment and regulation of small- and medium-sized reservoirs in the upper reaches of the basin. The flood simulation results demonstrated that the Xin’anjiang model was difficult to apply in this area because the average value of its Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) was as low as 0.31. Meanwhile, the simulation efficiencies of the Liaoning unsaturated model and the DHF model were higher than that of the Xin’anjiang model, but the relative error of flood peak discharge and runoff depth for most floods were still high and could not meet the actual forecast requirements by the Reservoir Administration Bureau of Liaoning Province. Overall, the improved DHF model showed the best efficiency, and the mean value of the NSE reached 0.79. Therefore, the improved DHF model has good applicability in the Dongbaichengzi station watershed in the upper reaches of the Raoyang River, China.

Keywords: arid and semi-arid regions; flood forecasting; DHF model; impact of small and medium-sized reservoirs; Raoyang River basin in western Liaoning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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