Identification

Title

Revisiting parameter sensitivities in the variable infiltration capacity model across a hydroclimatic gradient

Abstract

Despite the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model being used for decades in the hydrology community, there are still model parameters whose sensitivities remain unknown. Additionally, understanding the factors that control spatial variations in parameter sensitivities is crucial given the increasing interest in obtaining spatially coherent parameter fields over large domains. In this study, we investigate the sensitivities of 43 soil, vegetation and snow parameters in the VIC model for 101 catchments spanning the diverse hydroclimates of continental Chile. We implement a hybrid local-global sensitivity analysis approach, using eight model evaluation metrics to quantify sensitivities, with four of them formulated from runoff time series, two characterizing snow processes, and the remaining two based on evaporation processes. Our results confirm an overparameterization for the processes analyzed here, with only 12 (i.e., 28 %) parameters found to be sensitive, distributed among soil (7), vegetation (2) and snow (3) model components. Correlation analyses show that climate variables - in particular, mean annual precipitation and the aridity index - are the main controls on parameter sensitivities. Additionally, our results highlight the influence of the leaf area index on simulated hydrologic processes - regardless of the dominant climate types - and the relevance of hard-coded snow parameters. Based on correlation results and the interpretation of spatial sensitivity patterns, we provide guidance on the most relevant parameters for model calibration according to the target processes and the prevailing climate type. Overall, the results presented here contribute to an improved understanding of model behavior across watersheds with diverse physical characteristics that encompass a wide hydroclimatic gradient from hyperarid to humid systems.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d73n2742

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2022-07-07T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact