Generation of sub-daily precipitation time series anywhere in Switzerland by mapping the parameters of GWEX-MRC, an at-site weather generator

Kaltrina Maloku, Guillaume Evin () and Benoit Hingray ()
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Kaltrina Maloku: GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes
Guillaume Evin: UR ETGR (ETNA) - Erosion torrentielle neige et avalanches - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IGE - Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Fédération OSUG - Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, ECRINS - Risques gravitaires et cryosphère en montagne - IGE - Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Fédération OSUG - Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes
Benoit Hingray: GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes

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Abstract: Study Region Switzerland Study Focus Stochastic weather generators (WGENs) are a common tool for generating long precipitation scenarios, also needed at ungauged sites. This study evaluates different methods for obtaining the parameters of a hybrid at-site WGEN at any location within the study area. The hybrid GWEX-MRC model is composed of GWEX, a daily WGEN, and MRC, a disaggregation model based on multiplicative random cascades. Two approaches are considered for obtaining parameter maps. The first approach applies classical spatial interpolation techniques, kriging and thin-plate splines, to parameter estimates derived from rain gauge data. The second approach uses CombiPrecip, an hourly gridded precipitation product from MeteoSwiss, to estimate parameters at grid scale. New Hydrological Insights for the Region We find that the parameters of GWEX-MRC can be interpolated with satisfactory results across Switzerland. Among interpolation techniques, kriging with elevation as an external drift performs best for GWEX, while thin-plate spline with elevation gives better results for MRC. The comparison of the two approaches, interpolation of site-based estimates and direct parameter estimation using CombiPrecip, showed comparable or slightly different performance depending on the precipitation statistic and season. These findings reveal the feasibility of both approaches and provide insights into their relative strengths and limitations. In addition, this study demonstrates that long precipitation scenarios can be reliably generated throughout Switzerland, which can later be used to feed a hydrological model.

Keywords: Precipitation; Stochastic weather generator; Mapping parameters; Gridded precipitation product; Switzerland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-08
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05167735v1
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Published in Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 2025, 60, pp.102454. ⟨10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102454⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05167735

DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102454

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