GEOframe essentials

 GEOframe is a system for doing hydrology by computer that aims to implement the DARTHs paradigm [Rigon et al., 2022]. By saying that it is a system, we emphasize that it is not a model but an infrastructure that can contain many differentiated modelling solutions (some tens of that) that are built upon model components [Argent et al., 2004]. This is because GEOframe leverages theObject Modelling system-framework (v3)[David et al., 2013] that allows to connect modelling components to solve a specific hydrological issue together and having many alternatives for its mathematical/numerical description. This infrastructure allows adapting the tools to the problems and not vice versa [Rigon et al., 2022]. In GEOframe particular attention has been dedicated to allow enhancements and additions writing the least code possible. The core code has been designed to open to addition and closed to modifications [Gamma et al, 1995], thus allowing stability of the code base over time.  GEOframe contains tens of components that cover rainfall-runoff [Formetta et al., 2011], snow modelling [Formetta et al., 2014] evaporation and transpiration[Bottazzi et al., 2021], infiltration [Tubini and Rigon, 2022], terrain analysis tools [Abera et al., 2014], interpolation models [Bancheri et al., 2018], calibrations tools [David et al., 2013], and so on. Every modelling paradigm is included, as, for instance process based modelling [Tubini and Rigon, 2022], lumped modelling [Formetta et al., 2014b], machine learning [Serafin et al., 2021], or can be included by adding appropriate components [Serafin, 2019]. Spatially disjoint catchments can be modelled separately and joined together in a bigger model by using a Groovy-based domain specific language. GEOframe has been applied to hydrological simulations from the point scale, to Alpine catchments [Abera et al., 2017], to large catchments as the Blue Nile [Abera et al., 2016], and among those is being deployed to the Po river. GEOframe is open source and built with open source tools including Eclipse, OpenJDK by Adoptium, Gradle, Github. Literate computing is pursued by extensively using Jupyter Notebooks for creating the input and the output of data. 

At Present GEOframe has three main branches: 

• GEOframe-NewAGE [Formetta et al., 2014] for the modelling of hydrology as a set of systems of systems of ordinary differential equations called Hydrological Dynamical Systems [CITE]; 
• WHETGEO (Tubini and Rigon, 2022) that solves the Richards, heat and transport equations in soil and groundwater; 
• GEOSPACE  which deals with soil-plant-atmosphere interactions. 

Many of the components, however, are shared among the various branches and "mixed" modelling solutions can be envisioned by choosing components from one or the other. In fact, for instance GEOSPACE is built upon WHETGEO and GEOframe ET components with the addition of a broker component that transmit and receive data from the to components subsets. For any of the sub-branches please refer to the respective blog pages.

References

Abera, W., A. Antonello, S. Franceschi, and G. Formetta. 2014. “The uDig Spatial Toolbox for Hydro-Geomorphic Analysis.” In Geomorphological Techniques (Online Edition), edited by British Society for Geomorphology. British Society for Geomorphology.

Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Luca Brocca, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Modeling the Water Budget of the Upper Blue Nile Basin Using the JGrass-NewAge Model System and Satellite Data.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 21 (6): 3145–65.

Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Marco Borga, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Estimating the Water Budget Components and Their Variability in a Pre-Alpine Basin with JGrass-NewAGE.” Advances in Water Resources 104 (June): 37–54.

Argent, Robert M. 2004. “An Overview of Model Integration for Environmental Applications —components, Frameworks and Semantics.” Environmental Modelling and Software 19 (3): 219– 34.

Bancheri, Marialaura, Francesco Serafin, Michele Bottazzi, Wuletawu Abera, Giuseppe Formetta, and Riccardo Rigon. 2018. “The Design, Deployment, and Testing of Kriging Models in GEOframe with SIK-0.9.8.” Geoscientific Model Development 11 (6): 2189–2207.

Bottazzi, Michele, Marialaura Bancheri, Mirka Mobilia, Giacomo Bertoldi, Antonia Longobardi, and Riccardo Rigon. 2021. “Comparing Evapotranspiration Estimates from the GEOframe-Prospero Model with Penman–Monteith and Priestley-Taylor Approaches under Different Climate Conditions.” WATER 13 (9): 1221.

David, O., J. C. Ascough II, W. Lloyd, T. R. Green, K. W. Rojas, G. H. Leavesley, and L. R. Ahuja. 2013. “A Software Engineering Perspective on Environmental Modeling Framework Design: The Object Modeling System.” Environmental Modelling & Software 39 (c): 201–13.

Formetta, G., R. Mantilla, S. Franceschi. 2011 and R. Rigon. “The JGrass-NewAge System for Forecasting and Managing the Hydrological Budgets at the Basin Scale: Models of Flow Generation and Propagation/routing.” Geoscientific Model. https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/4/943/2011/.

Formetta, G., S. K. Kampf, O. David, and R. Rigon. 2014. “Snow Water Equivalent Modeling Components in NewAge-JGrass.” Geoscientific Model Development 7 (3): 725–36.

Formetta, G., A. Antonello, S. Franceschi, O. David, and R. Rigon. 2014. “Hydrological Modelling with Components: A GIS-Based Open-Source Framework.” Environmental Modelling & Software 55 (May): 190–200.

Gamma, Erich, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, Ralph E.. Johnson, and John Vlissides. 1995. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. Pearson Deutschland GmbH.

Rigon, Riccardo, Giuseppe Formetta, Marialaura Bancheri, Niccolò Tubini, Concetta D’Amato, Olaf David, and Christian Massari. 2022. “HESS Opinions: Participatory Digital Earth Twin Hydrology Systems (DARTHs) for Everyone: A Blueprint for Hydrologists.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 1–38.

Serafin, Francesco. 2019. “Enabling Modeling Framework with Surrogate Modeling Capabilities and Complex Networks.” Edited by Riccardo Rigon And. Ph.D., University of Trento.

Serafin, Francesco, Olaf David, Jack R. Carlson, Timothy R. Green, and Riccardo Rigon. 2021. “Bridging Technology Transfer Boundaries: Integrated Cloud Services Deliver Results of Nonlinear Process Models as Surrogate Model Ensembles.” Environmental Modelling and Software[R] 146 (105231): 105231.

Tubini, Niccolò, and Riccardo Rigon. 2022. “Implementing the Water, HEat and Transport Model in GEOframe (WHETGEO-1D v.1.0): Algorithms, Informatics, Design Patterns, Open Science Features, and 1D Deployment.” Geoscientific Model Development 15 (1): 75–104.

On catchment analysis (modeling)

In a series of papers (Abera et al., 2016, Abera et al. 2017a, Abera et al., 2017b, Azimi et al., 2023), we have outlined a methodology for studying basins, focusing on specific locations BUT looking especially to the methodologies. They are also summarized in slides that I typically use in my hydrological modeling classes. These slides summarize the analysis requirements in seven key steps, supported by various notebooks that implement the methodologies.

Each time we begin a new catchment analysis, please ensure these methodological suggestions are considered. Overlooking them can be quite frustrating. Consistently revisit and apply the reference material to build upon previous work and past achievements. Criticize previous methods if necessary, but do not disregard them.

There are two critical steps that are often neglected. The first is data analysis—specifically, examining data coherence and comparing multiple data sources. This preliminary analysis can provide significant insights before any modeling begins, but it is rarely pursued. Instead, input data are directly used in the model, leading to issues later because something seems off.

The second neglected step is validation. There is a tendency to be satisfied with performance metrics like KGE or Nash-Sutcliffe, but these should be starting points, not final assessments. Other benchmarks, such as those proposed by Addor et al., (2018) should be used to critically evaluate the results, not just applied mechanically.

Recently, Azimi et al., 2023 introduced a more refined analysis method (called in future papers EcoProb), which allows for finer discrimination of model behavior by separating the ranges of response. This method should be considered for more precise analysis.

Additionally, since Abera (and likely earlier), we have tried to refocus our analysis on not just discharges but also on budgets. Understanding budget behavior can reveal significant insights and prevent errors, but it is often sidelined. We need to improve in this area.

Mapping is another crucial aspect. While we often rely on time series plots, spatial representation is essential to show the irreducible spatial heterogeneity. This is evident in soil moisture studies, such as the recent work by Andreis et al., and should also apply to other quantities like snow cover and depth.

I have worked with many of you to create effective graphs and maps. Using a full range of colors is beneficial, but please remember that some journals (AGU and EGU) require color-blind friendly plots. Address this requirement from the beginning to avoid last-minute modifications.

P.S. I - One distinguishing feature of GEOframe compared to other systems is its ability to explore multiple working hypotheses. Although this capability exists, it has not been utilized so far. Let's make full use of it moving forward.

P.S. II - When I read a paper from collaborators, I assume that all materials, including data, software, notebooks, and .sim files, are organized and shared as supplemental material for reproducibility. To achieve this, it is crucial to maintain order and keep the material up-to-date from the beginning. Otherwise, it becomes a nightmare.

References

Abera, Wuletawu, Luca Brocca, and Riccardo Rigon. 2016. “Comparative Evaluation of Different Satellite Rainfall Estimation Products and Bias Correction in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) Basin.” Atmospheric Research 178-179 (September): 471–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2016.04.017.

Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Luca Brocca, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Modeling the Water Budget of the Upper Blue Nile Basin Using the JGrass-NewAge Model System and Satellite Data.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 21 (6): 3145–65. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3145-2017.

Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Marco Borga, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Estimating the Water Budget Components and Their Variability in a Pre-Alpine Basin with JGrass-NewAGE.” Advances in Water Resources 104 (June): 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.03.010.

Addor, N., G. Nearing, C. Prieto, A. J. Newman, N. Le Vine, and M. P. Clark. 2018. “A Ranking of Hydrological Signatures Based on Their Predictability in Space.” Water Resources Research 54 (11): 8792–8812. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018wr022606.

Azimi, Shima, Christian Massari, Giuseppe Formetta, Silvia Barbetta, Alberto Tazioli, Davide Fronzi, Sara Modanesi, Angelica Tarpanelli, and Riccardo Rigon. 2023. “On Understanding Mountainous Carbonate Basins of the Mediterranean Using Parsimonious Modeling Solutions.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 27 (24): 4485–4503. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4485-2023.

Estimating water budgets with JGrass-NewAGE

We already talked about water budgets, and the papers of ours that deals with it (see below). Because in this Fall AGU meeting there was a dedicated session, we presented an abstract:

Recently we presented two papers one dedicated to the estimation of the water budget components in a small, basin, the Posina catchment [Abera et al., 2017], and the other in a large basin, the Blue Nile [Abera et al., 2017b]. Closing the budget in the two cases was different. Worth to say, it was much more difficult to close the budget at Posina, since at the large scale satellite platform can reasonably help to validate the results. At the smallest scale ground measurements usually available do not guarantee the closure of the budget without making additional hypothesis and remote sensing data cannot give very much help.  The hypothesis that we made is that the groundwater storage comes back to the initial level after a certain time, that we called Budyko time, TB. This time can be fixed arbitrarily, for instance, to five years and then varied to assess, through these trials the uncertainty of the budget. The large scale case was largely supported by remote sensing data, instead, either for calibration and/or validation. This contribution explains how we actually did, clarifies some aspects of the informatics necessary to obtain it and openly discusses the issues risen in our work. We also consider varying configuration of the water budget schemes at the subbasin level, and how this affects the estimates.

Finally we analyse the problem of travel times [e.g. Rigon et  al., 2016a, Rigon et al, 2016b]  as it comes out from considering the multiple fluxes and storages and discuss how much they can be realistic. All considerations and  simulations are based on the JGrass-NewAGE system [Formetta et al., 2014] and its evolution presented in Bancheri [2017].

As we say in the presentation, we could not talk about the travel times. However there are several other places where you can find about, here. 

Clicking on the above Figure, you will see the presentation that was used in NewOrleas. However, on Youtube, we uploaded an extended version with comments. 

References

Abera, W., Formetta, G., Borga, M., & Rigon, R. (2017). Estimating the water budget components and their variability in a pre-alpine basin with JGrass-NewAGE. Advances in Water Resources, 104, 1–18. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.03.010

Abera, W., Formetta, Brocca, L., & Rigon, R. (2017), Modelling the water budget of the Upper Blue Nile basin using the JGrass-NewAge model system and satellite data. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3145–3165, 2017

Rigon, R., Bancheri, M., & Green, T. R. (2016). Age-ranked hydrological budgets and a travel time description of catchment hydrology. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 20(12), 4929–4947. http://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4929-2016

GEOFRAME-NewAGE (a.k.a. JGrass-NewAGE) main publications

Please find below the main papers and the Ph.D. dissertations related to the GEOFRAME-NewAGE system. (You can find general information on GEOFRAME NewAGE starting from this post).

13 - Bancheri, Marialaura, Riccardo Rigon, and Salvatore Manfreda. 2019. The GEOframe-NewAge Modelling System Applied in a Data Scarce Environment. WATER 12 (1): 86. 

12 - Bancheri, M., Serafin, F., Bottazzi, M., Abera, W., Formetta, G., & Rigon, R. (2018). The design, deployment and testing of Kriging models in GEOframe. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, 1–31. http://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2017-310

11 - Bancheri, M., A flexible approach to the extimation of water budgets and its connection to the travel time theory, Ph.D. Dissertation, 2017

10 - Abera, W; Formetta, G.; Brocca, L.; Rigon, R.; Water budget modelling of the Upper Blue Nile basin using the JGrass-NewAge model system and satellite data, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3145-3165, 2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3145-2017

9 - Abera, W; Formetta, G.; Borga, M.; Rigon, R.; Estimating the water budget components and their variability in a Pre-Alpine basin with NewAge-JGrass, Advances in Water Resources, 2017

8 - Abera, W. - Modelling water budget at a basin scale using JGrass-NewAge system, Ph.D. Dissertation, Università di Trento, 2016

7 - Formetta, G., Bancheri M., Rigon R., Performances of site-specific parameterizations of longwave radiation,  Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4641-4654, 2016, http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/20/4641/2016/
doi:10.5194/hess-20-4641-2016

6 -  Formetta G. ,  Antonello A. , Franceschi S. , David O., Rigon R.,  Digital watershed representation within the NewAge-JGrass system. Boletin Geologico y Minero, 125 (3): 371-381, 2014. ISSN: 0366-0176

5 -  Formetta G., David O., Kampf S., Rigon R., Snow water equivalent modeling components in NewAge-JGrass, Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 725-736, 2014

4 -  Formetta G.,  Antonello A., Franceschi S., David O., and Rigon R., Hydrological modelling with components: A GIS-based open-source framework, Environmental Modelling & Software, 5 (2014), 190-200}

3- Formetta, G.,  Hydrological modelling with components: the OMS3 NewAge-JGrass system, Doctoral Dissertation, Università di Trento, 2013

2 -  Formetta G., Rigon R., Chavez J.L., David O., The short wave radiation model in JGrass-NewAge System, Geosci. Model Dev., 6, 915-928, 2013, www.geosci-model-dev.net/6/915/2013/, doi:10.5194/gmd-6-915-2013

1 -  Formetta, G., Mantilla, R., Franceschi, S.,  Antonello A., Rigon R., The JGrass-NewAge system for forecasting and managing the hydrological budgets at the basin scale: models of flow generation and propagation/routing, Geoscientific Model Development, Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Pages: 943-955, DOI: 10.5194/gmd-4-943-201, 2011

NewAGE is based on the Object Modelling System whose main reference is the following:

0- David, O., Ascough, J.C. II, Lloyd, W., Green, T.R., Rojas, K.W., Leveasley, G.H., Ahuja, L.R., A software engineering perspective on environmental modeling framework design: The Object Modeling System, Environn. Modelling & Software, 201-213, 2013

P.S. - The system has been formerly named Jgrass-NewAGE but we though it was better to avoid possible misunderstandings with the GRASS community (that we deeply love) and changed the name. Besides, GEOFRAME better interprets the spirit of the new components than JGrass.

The Hydrological Modelling Class 2022 - Index

 Index

Go to:

• Software Used
• The Foreseen Schedule
• The lab 
• The (old) Webinars 

Introduction

 The Hydrological Modeling course aims to teach to simulate the hydrological cycle at various spatial scales in order to be able to adequately manage the water resource and to prevent the risk of floods. The importance of these two issues is widely covered by the EU 2000/60 framework directives or "Water directive" and EU 2006/60, "Flood directive". Based on the hydrological knowledge acquired in the course of Hydrology at the Bachelor of Engineering for the Environment and the Territory, the hydrological processes, analyzed as punctual phenomena are extended to the water catchment areas. 

Precipitation is analyzed as a measured statistical data, both from ground stations and from remote sensing; the other processes are suitably modeled, as briefly described below. At the end of the course, a student must be able to independently model the flow rates, evaporation and transpiration in a river basin of various sizes, after having delineated it starting from digital terrain data. Of course, the student will have to demonstrate that he has critically understood the concepts that underlie the hydrological modeling presented. 

The knowledge acquired may be used in the River Engineering course for the design of defense works. Hydrological modeling also introduces concepts that are used in the course of Aqueducts and Sewers for the calculation of stormwater networks. The course is partly useful for the Hydraulic Protection of the Territory course.  A more condensed part of the version of the course can be found @GWS2021.

An overview of the topics (in Italian) can be found on the seminar done for the District Authority of river Po (here). 

By Michele Vettorazzi, Environmental Engineer and Photographer

The lectures of the course will be held in English, according to the methods already followed in the Numerical Modeling course (i.e. with summary in Italian at the beginning of the lesson, lessons in English, questions and explanations in Italian). The first part of the course, until on April 3, will be dedicated to the presentation and discussion of theoretical concepts. The lectures will be recorded and uploaded on the course's YouTube channel (or Vimeo). The lessons will cover 4 of the five hours per week. The fifth hour will be dedicated to the preparation of the data necessary for the projects to be completed in the second part of the course. 

Students must take care to understand the hydrological concepts and discuss them with the lecturer. The first twenty minutes of each lesson will be devoted to the discussion of the topics covered in the previous lesson and the problems that arose in the preparation of the data (in Italian). Every group had to prepare an appropriate question or comment to which the lecturer will replay. A summary, again in Italian, of the lesson and then the actual lesson will follow. 

The second part of the course will use the theoretical themes of the first part and using the tools made available by the GEOframe system (https://abouthydrology.blogspot.com/2015/03/jgrass-newage-essentials.html). Students, in groups of two or three, will have to estimate hydrological flows and quantities over a significant period of time and with an hourly time step using a time series of hydro-meteorological data in inputs for period long enough to allow adequate calibration of the models. With the help of the tutor and the reader, students will face problems of missing data, validate the models, discuss and implement an adequate configuration of the GEOframe hydrological system in order to get the hydrological water balance of the basin. 

The following works by Abera can be taken as an example of the outcomes expected :

• Abera, W., G. Formetta, and L. Brocca. 2017. “Modeling the Water Budget of the Upper Blue Nile Basin Using the JGrass-NewAge Model System and Satellite Data.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/517346/.
• Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Marco Borga, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Estimating the Water Budget Components and Their Variability in a Pre-Alpine Basin with JGrass-NewAGE.” Advances in Water Resources 104 (June): 37–54.

References 

The lessons will be video recorded and made available. Each lesson will be given through slides in English which will be delivered to students in advance. When necessary, the lessons will be accompanied by appropriate in-depth papers. There is no real text because the course, even in the hydrological tradition, elaborates the concepts in a contemporary way and uses innovative tools.
As general reference texts we recommend:

• Beven, K. - Raifall-runoff, the primer, ISBN 10: 047071459X, ISBN 13: 978047071459, Second Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, 2012
• Dingmann, L., Physical Hydrology, ISBN-13: 978-1478611189, ISBN-10: 1478611189, Third Edition, Waveland Press, 2015
• Lu, N. and Godt, J.W., Hillslope Hydrology and Stability, Cambridge University Press, ISBN-13: 978-1107021068, ISBN-10: 11070210652010, 2013
• Bonan, G., Ecological Climatology, concepts and applications, ISBN-13: 978-1107619050, ISBN-10: 110761905X, 2016

These books represent a shareable review of the phenomena and hydrological modeling but the methods they present are not necessarily those used in the course. The course, cause of time constraints, presents a selected and limited perspective of the subject that the texts cited dissect from various points of view often complementary to the one of the course.

The Hydrological Modelling Class 2021 - Introduction And References

Index

Go to:

• Software Used
• The Foreseen Schedule
• The lab 
• The Webinars 

Introduction

 The Hydrological Modeling course aims to teach to simulate the hydrological cycle at various spatial scales in order to be able to adequately manage the water resource and to prevent the risk of floods. The importance of these two issues is widely covered by the EU 2000/60 framework directives or "Water directive" and EU 2006/60, "Flood directive". Based on the hydrological knowledge acquired in the course of Hydrology at the Bachelor of Engineering for the Environment and the Territory, the hydrological processes, analyzed as punctual phenomena are extended to the water catchment areas. 

Precipitation is analyzed as a measured statistical data, both from ground stations and from remote sensing; the other processes are suitably modeled, as briefly described below. At the end of the course, a student must be able to independently model the flow rates, evaporation and transpiration in a river basin of various sizes, after having delineated it starting from digital terrain data. Of course, the student will have to demonstrate that he has critically understood the concepts that underlie the hydrological modeling presented. 

The knowledge acquired may be used in the River Engineering course for the design of defense works. Hydrological modeling also introduces concepts that are used in the course of Aqueducts and Sewers for the calculation of stormwater networks. The course is partly useful for the Hydraulic Protection of the Territory course.  A more condensed part of the version of the course can be found @GWS2021.

An overview of the topics (in Italian) can be found on the seminar done for the District Authority of river Po (here). 

The lectures of the course will be held in English, according to the methods already followed in the Numerical Modeling course (i.e. with summary in Italian at the beginning of the lesson, lessons in English, questions and explanations in Italian). The first part of the course, until on April 3, will be dedicated to the presentation and discussion of theoretical concepts. The lectures will be recorded and uploaded on the course's YouTube channel (or Vimeo). The lessons will cover 4 of the five hours per week. The fifth hour will be dedicated to the preparation of the data necessary for the projects to be completed in the second part of the course. 

Students must take care to understand the hydrological concepts and discuss them with the lecturer. The first twenty minutes of each lesson will be devoted to the discussion of the topics covered in the previous lesson and the problems that arose in the preparation of the data (in Italian). Every group had to prepare an appropriate question or comment to which the lecturer will replay. A summary, again in Italian, of the lesson and then the actual lesson will follow. 

The second part of the course will use the theoretical themes of the first part and using the tools made available by the GEOframe system (https://abouthydrology.blogspot.com/2015/03/jgrass-newage-essentials.html). Students, in groups of two or three, will have to estimate hydrological flows and quantities over a significant period of time and with an hourly time step using a time series of hydro-meteorological data in inputs for period long enough to allow adequate calibration of the models. With the help of the tutor and the reader, students will face problems of missing data, validate the models, discuss and implement an adequate configuration of the GEOframe hydrological system in order to get the hydrological water balance of the basin. 

The following works by Abera can be taken as an example of the outcomes expected :

• Abera, W., G. Formetta, and L. Brocca. 2017. “Modeling the Water Budget of the Upper Blue Nile Basin Using the JGrass-NewAge Model System and Satellite Data.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/517346/.
• Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Marco Borga, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Estimating the Water Budget Components and Their Variability in a Pre-Alpine Basin with JGrass-NewAGE.” Advances in Water Resources 104 (June): 37–54.

References 

The lessons will be video recorded and made available. Each lesson will be given through slides in English which will be delivered to students in advance. When necessary, the lessons will be accompanied by appropriate in-depth papers. There is no real text because the course, even in the hydrological tradition, elaborates the concepts in a contemporary way and uses innovative tools.
As general reference texts we recommend:

• Beven, K. - Raifall-runoff, the primer, ISBN 10: 047071459X, ISBN 13: 978047071459, Second Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, 2012
• Dingmann, L., Physical Hydrology, ISBN-13: 978-1478611189, ISBN-10: 1478611189, Third Edition, Waveland Press, 2015
• Lu, N. and Godt, J.W., Hillslope Hydrology and Stability, Cambridge University Press, ISBN-13: 978-1107021068, ISBN-10: 11070210652010, 2013
• Bonan, G., Ecological Climatology, concepts and applications, ISBN-13: 978-1107619050, ISBN-10: 110761905X, 2016

These books represent a shareable review of the phenomena and hydrological modeling but the methods they present are not necessarily those used in the course. The course, cause of time constraints, presents a selected and limited perspective of the subject that the texts cited dissect from various points of view often complementary to the one of the course.

The Hydrological Modelling Class - 2023 Index

 Index

Go to:

• Software Used
• The Foreseen Schedule
• The lab 
• The (old) Webinars 

Introduction

 The Hydrological Modeling course aims to teach to simulate the hydrological cycle at various spatial scales in order to be able to adequately manage the water resource and to prevent the risk of floods. The importance of these two issues is widely covered by the EU 2000/60 framework directives or "Water directive" and EU 2006/60, "Flood directive". Based on the hydrological knowledge acquired in the course of Hydrology at the Bachelor of Engineering for the Environment and the Territory, the hydrological processes, analyzed as punctual phenomena are extended to the water catchment areas. 

Precipitation is analyzed as a measured statistical data, both from ground stations and from remote sensing; the other processes are suitably modeled, as briefly described below. At the end of the course, a student must be able to independently model the flow rates, evaporation and transpiration in a river basin of various sizes, after having delineated it starting from digital terrain data. Of course, the student will have to demonstrate that he has critically understood the concepts that underlie the hydrological modeling presented. 

The knowledge acquired may be used in the River Engineering course for the design of defense works. Hydrological modeling also introduces concepts that are used in the course of Aqueducts and Sewers for the calculation of stormwater networks. The course is partly useful for the Hydraulic Protection of the Territory course.  A more condensed part of the version of the course can be found @GWS.

An overview of the topics (in Italian) can be found on the seminar done for the District Authority of river Po (here). 

The lectures of the course will be held in English, according to the methods already followed in the Numerical Modeling course (i.e. with summary in Italian at the beginning of the lesson, lessons in English, questions and explanations in Italian). The first part of the course, until on April 3, will be dedicated to the presentation and discussion of theoretical concepts. The lectures will be recorded and uploaded on the course's YouTube channel (or Vimeo). The lessons will cover 4 of the five hours per week. The fifth hour will be dedicated to the preparation of the data necessary for the projects to be completed in the second part of the course. 

Students must take care to understand the hydrological concepts and discuss them with the lecturer. The first twenty minutes of each lesson will be devoted to the discussion of the topics covered in the previous lesson and the problems that arose in the preparation of the data (in Italian). Every group had to prepare an appropriate question or comment to which the lecturer will replay. A summary, again in Italian, of the lesson and then the actual lesson will follow. 

The second part of the course will use the theoretical themes of the first part and using the tools made available by the GEOframe system (https://abouthydrology.blogspot.com/2015/03/jgrass-newage-essentials.html). Students, in groups of two or three, will have to estimate hydrological flows and quantities over a significant period of time and with an hourly time step using a time series of hydro-meteorological data in inputs for period long enough to allow adequate calibration of the models. With the help of the tutor and the reader, students will face problems of missing data, validate the models, discuss and implement an adequate configuration of the GEOframe hydrological system in order to get the hydrological water balance of the basin. 

The following works by Abera can be taken as an example of the outcomes expected :

• Abera, W., G. Formetta, and L. Brocca. 2017. “Modeling the Water Budget of the Upper Blue Nile Basin Using the JGrass-NewAge Model System and Satellite Data.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/517346/.
• Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Marco Borga, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Estimating the Water Budget Components and Their Variability in a Pre-Alpine Basin with JGrass-NewAGE.” Advances in Water Resources 104 (June): 37–54.

References 

The lessons will be video recorded and made available. Each lesson will be given through slides in English which will be delivered to students in advance. When necessary, the lessons will be accompanied by appropriate in-depth papers. There is no real text because the course, even in the hydrological tradition, elaborates the concepts in a contemporary way and uses innovative tools.
As general reference texts we recommend:

• Beven, K. - Raifall-runoff, the primer, ISBN 10: 047071459X, ISBN 13: 978047071459, Second Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, 2012
• Dingmann, L., Physical Hydrology, ISBN-13: 978-1478611189, ISBN-10: 1478611189, Third Edition, Waveland Press, 2015
• Lu, N. and Godt, J.W., Hillslope Hydrology and Stability, Cambridge University Press, ISBN-13: 978-1107021068, ISBN-10: 11070210652010, 2013
• Bonan, G., Ecological Climatology, concepts and applications, ISBN-13: 978-1107619050, ISBN-10: 110761905X, 2016

These books represent a shareable review of the phenomena and hydrological modeling but the methods they present are not necessarily those used in the course. The course, cause of time constraints, presents a selected and limited perspective of the subject that the texts cited dissect from various points of view often complementary to the one of the course.

Material for the GEOframe Winter School - Rainfall-Runoff

Here we are introducing some modules for rainfall runoff modelling present in GEOframe. Some of them where actually refined for the Civil Protection of the Basilicata Region.

Schedule

• Deconstructing the catchment (YouTube video)
• The Embedded Reservoir Model (YouTube video). On this I was maybe not clearly enough. ERM in itself is not clear on the fact that ERM is not a model in the traditional sense. It is actually the composition of four components. For instance, the runoff one is a simple non linear reservoir. Working with sim files, we can rearrange them also in different ways and obtain different "modelling solutions"
• TheNet3 Infrastructure (YoutTube Video)
• LUCA (YouTube video)
• Examples of Application
• The Posina Catchment (Abera et al., 2017a)(YouTube video)
• The Blue Nile (Abera et al. 2017b) (YouTube video)
• The Basilicata Civil Protection (YouTube video)

Exercises

• The set of sim files and the Jupyter notebook are here
• The Python script by Christian Massari to create automatically the required subfolders. It is here.

General references to Rainfall-Runoff


Beven, K. (2012), Ranfall Runoff, the primer, Wiley-Blackwell

Rigon, R., Bancheri, M., Formetta, G., & de Lavenne, A. (2015). The geomorphological unit hydrograph from a historical-critical perspective. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, http://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3855

References besides the one already used

For seeing how to represent lumped hydrological models (you can give a look to this paper here)

Abera, W.W. (2016), Modelling water budget at a basin scale using JGrass-NewAge system. PhD thesis, University of Trento

Bancheri, Marialaura (2017) A flexible approach to the estimation of water budgets and its connection to the travel time theory. PhD thesis, University of Trento.

Formetta, Giuseppe (2013) Hydrological modelling with components: the OMS3 NewAge-JGrass system. PhD thesis, University of Trento.

Formetta, G., Antonello, A., Franceschi, S., David, O., & Rigon, R. (2014). Hydrological modelling with components: A GIS-based open source framework, 55(C), 190–200. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2014.01.019

Patta, C, Costruzione di un modello idrologico di stima della disponibilità idrica in area pedemontana, Tesi di laurea (in Italian), Politecnico di Torino, 2018

For open questions about rainfall-runoff see also the Meledrio Posts.

Previous Winter School page

All Winter School pages

Next Winter School page 

To inquiring students

Since a few years, I am receiving emails from students inquiring for the possibility of doing Ph.D studies with me. The letter is usually of this type :

"Dear Dr. Riccardo Rigon,

Hope my email finds you well.My name is Donald Duck and I would like to hereby ask about the possibility of working under your supervision as a PhD student. I have received my MSc degree in * and **.

Sometimes, the candidate also says something like:

"I possess 5 years of work experience as a researcher, instructor and Environmental Consultant and have a related research background which led me to present 18 conference papers, 2 published papers and 3 submitted papers which are detailed in my CV.”

They continues,

"I was reading about your recent works on the website and due to the alignment of my research interests with your expertise in Environmental Engineering and the academic position of your university, I believe the valuable experience that I would have under your supervision will provide me with the ground to achieve my academic goals.
I am deeply interested to begin a PhD program at your university  [...]"

CV: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Duck

RI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhBf4ClJwoY

Best regards,

Donald Duck

Receiving many of this letters, I have prepared an answer below, which I hope is useful to clarify some points and my feelings. 

I do research in Hydrology and you can be enrolled to our doctoral school by participating to a call, usually in the first months of every year. The Applicants are examined by a committee that tries to  choose the bests. We are always looking for outstanding students and dedicated people (not only me but also my colleagues).

For producing an endorsement for a candidate I do not personally know,  and forwarding it to the selecting committee,  I require the student to study the material of the last Winter School on GEOframe (on catchments studies)  or of the Summer School (on soil-plants-atmosphere interactions, process-based modelling), or apply to one of the Schools. I can wave their school fees if  they specify they wants to try to be enroll as a doctoral student. 

If the applicant agrees,  I and the group of GEOframers will dedicate some of their time helping  in the installations of  our software and eventually perform some case study. This application can be in the field of catchments hydrology (on the example of Dr. Abera papers cited below) or applications using the tools more explicitly developed to work on the Critical Zone (Richards equations coupled to the energy budget and evapotranspiration) on which I can give material and direction.
After the completion of the above task, I will be able to weigh their skills, to know how they can work in  my group and to consider them as interesting candidates for a Ph.D. with us (this does not mean they is not an interesting and skilled candidate for other groups or colleagues).
The enrollment though is not guaranteed, since the selection is  a public competition and many apply. However, my endorsement can help. Besides, it can be used also elsewhere, since it will be provided with a certification of having completed the GEOframe studies, and the candidate certainly did not waste their time having learned something useful for their hydrological career.  

I cover various topics in hydrology, and, all of them are explained in my blog AboutHydrology. Therefore, the astute candidate has to consider to browse what I do. Besides advancing theoretical parts of Hydrology, usually a Ph.D. student in my group is intended to produce working and tested codes (i.e. doing programming). All the code developed will be regularly uploaded to Github (or similar platform), inside the GEOframe community space, and will be Open Source according to the GPL v3 license. I am not usually interested in  doing research with SWAT, HEC_HMS or other hydrological models, different from those I develop. 

Further information of the policies of the research group can be found:

• To my students
• Working with us
• The scaring version of “working with us"
• About doing a Ph.D.
• Why Open Source ?
• Going beyond the present state of Art Of Hydrological Modeling (since 2011 but still valid)
• Authorship policies in the group
• Software documentation and autorship policy (the latter included at the bottom of the notebook)

P.S. 0 - For getting a Ph.D. opportunity or a postdoc position, one valuable way  is to subscribe to the AboutHydrology google group where you can find appropriate announcements

P.S.  I- About coding - The candidate will take care of implementing, besides the code, the appropriate procedures for continuous integration of the evolving source code, and s/he will be also asked to maintain a regular rate of commits to the common open platform. Despite these conditions, and being free and open source, the code will be intellectual property by the coder.
This will be guaranteed also by the components-based infrastructure offered by OMS3, which allows to better define the contributions of anyone.The implementation part will be followed, accompanied by testing activities, either for mathematical consistency, than for physical consistency with experiments and field measurements.The Ph.D. student is intended to produce, besides working and tested codes, also at least three papers in major journals (VQR Class A), of which, at least one as first Author. Duration of the doctoral studies is three years.

P.S. II - I am also considering with favor:
Applicants who wants to apply to build the new GEOtop snow model but with attention to forest-snow interactions.
Who wants to work on the infrastructure of the OMS3, GEOframe systems.
Who wants to exploit the capabilities of the GEOframe system to pursue the modelling of the river Adige (and/or other rivers in the world), including human infrastructures.

References

Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Marco Borga, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Estimating the Water Budget Components and Their Variability in a Pre-Alpine Basin with JGrass-NewAGE.” Advances in Water Resources 104 (June): 37–54.

Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Luca Brocca, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Modeling the Water Budget of the Upper Blue Nile Basin Using the JGrass-NewAge Model System and Satellite Data.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 21 (6): 3145–65.

Tubini, Niccolò, and Riccardo Rigon. 2021. “Implementing the Water, HEat and Transport Model in GEOframe WHETGEO-1D v.1.0: Algorithms, Informatics, Design Patterns, Open Science Features, and 1D Deployment.” https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2021-163.

OMS Summer School 2016 - What we actually did

This is what we actually did at the Summer School on OMS3. Here you will find slides and material (actually, it is already presented in the Colorado State University site), but I will document here a little more.  (The material of the Winter School 2019 is quite more informative that this, which is left however for completeness)

Instructors

Wuletawu Abera (University of Trento, Italy)
Olaf David (Colorado State University, Fort Collins, US)
Giuseppe Formetta (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK)
Tim Green (Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, US)
Greg McMaster (Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, US)
Scott Peckham (University of Colorado, Boulder, US)
Riccardo Rigon (University of Trento, Italy)
Francesco Serafin (University of Trento, Italy)
Marialaura Bancheri (University of Trento, Italy) 

Monday -  Introduction, Component-based Modeling Concepts 

09:00 - 12:30 Scope of the class

• Class introduction (Rigon) - I could not be present, so someone talk in my place. 

          I think what I would have to tell you is here.

• Introduction into component-based Modeling(Peckham) Presentation1, Presentation2 

          Other information on Naming things in hydrology is here. However, Scott's                presentation 2 is pretty informative.

• Introduction into OMS (David) Presentation

14:00 - 17:30 Getting Started with OMS(David)

• Software Installation Instructions 
• 'Hello World' Example Example 
• Component Development Presentation

Tuesday -  OMS Introduction

09:00 - 12:30 

• Component Integration (David)  Presentation 
• The Water tank example (Peckham, David) 

        watertank.pdf, watertank.zip, watertank_example.pdf

      The water tank  example is very simple, but very illustrative of what a model is. Today there is a         tendency to think lumped models as a set of tanks with rules for moving water. I will do a post             soon for it.

14:00 - 17:30 OMS Basic Building Blocks (cont.) Step By Step 

• Project structure, components, simulations, file formats, annotations, etc. (Overview, examples.zip )
• Simulation Development. (scripting, testing, component connectivity, Examples) 
• Thornwaite Waterbalance Model example

References: Annotations, DSL, CSV, OMSConsole

Wednesday Modeling Applications I

09:00 - 12:30 Hydrological modelling JGrass-NewAGE (Abera)

         Presentation, LWRB.zip, DMW.zip

14:00 - 17:30 Model calibration algorithms in NewAge-JGrass(Formetta)

        Presentation, prj-adige.zip, prj-snow.zip

References on JGrass-NewAGE can be found here. References on the Horton Machine can be found here. Maybe for most of you is a mystery what Pfafstetter numbering is. You can find information here. If someone has further doubts on components, they are documented on the GEOFRAME blog. If you do not have experience with calibration algorithms, you could start from some recent paper by Hoshin Gupta.

Addedum. Giuseppe added also a presentation of what he did on simulating landslides triggering with GEOtop (by embedding it in OMS3).

Thursday Modeling Applications II 

09:00 - 12:30 Agricultural Ecosystem Services (AgES) Watershed Model (Green)
      Presentation, Ages-Brazil.zip

• Model Description  
• How to run AgES in the OMS Console (Quick Start)
• Brazil case study (streamflow)
• Colorado, USA case study (distributed soil moisture)

AGEs is a "storages" based model, meaning that, as many other modern models, is based on the concept of intercommunicating storages. Physical contents are highly parameterised, but the model works. One of the model characteristic, which is common to other agricultural-oriented hydrological models, is the subdivision in small parcels with multiple communications among them (called Hydrologic Response Units). Interesting also the slides regarding the complexity of models.

14:00 - 17:30 Plant growth modeling with AgES (McMaster)

     Presentation

Starting with Java

CLIMAWARE scientific outcomes

This post address the results of the scientific outcomes of the project CLIMAWARE. This was financed by our University with the main scope of gathering around a topic researchers from different Departments. We chose to work on impacts of climate on river Adige. Part of the results were posted on this blog as soon as they came out. Others will be posted eventually.
We did not obtain all the results we promised at the beginning (but we had a 20% financial cut) but, nevertheless, I think we achieve something.

• We started to match views from various disciplines. 
• We get several journal papers accepted where we pushed sciences a little forward
• We improved our models JGrass-NewAGE, Weezard, Hyperstream
• We started new experiments
• We've got fun

In you want a more complete view of our work, please look at the scientific report here. Unfortunately it is in Italian, but a synthesis in English will follow soon. Papers below are not all specifically about river Adige but were considered as  works preliminary to the application to to it. Other more applicative papers will follow (eighteen months is not a so long period!).

In Spring we will organise a meeting day where we will summarise our results and talk about spinoffs of the project.

A note: Talking with one of the colleagues who originated this type of call, he asked: how many papers did you publish together (with people from other disciplines)? The papers you published with your guys, you would have had in any case.
You can see looking below and judge yourself (but the picture will be complete in a year from now).
My answer was: first it is not really true that I (we) would have published the same amount of papers. Some of the papers were produced because money sustained those not already enrolled at University who took care, at least, of many details.
Secondly,
a) eighteen months is a too short period to produce something together (really new stuff, I mean) with people you did not interacted before;
b) Spatial and temporal scale of different disciplines can be really different. It is not easy to fill the gaps. A project like our can make researches getting closer but not eliminate the differences magically.
c) Often proper journals for these interdisciplinary efforts are missing. Sci. Total Environ. (a.k.a. Stoten) is one of them, but it has its own targets to be respected, too.

References (published so far: several others are ongoing)

Abera, W.W., Brocca L, and Rigon R., Abera, W., Brocca, L., Rigon, R. (2016).
Comparative evaluation of different satellite rainfall estimation products and bias correction in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin. Atmospheric Research, 178-179, 471?483. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2016.04.017, 2016.

Berzi, D., Fraccarollo, L., 2015: Turbulence Locality and Granular-like Fluid Shear Viscosity in Collisional Suspensions. Physical Review Letters, 115,
194501-1-194501-5, doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.194501.

Berzi, D., Fraccarollo L., 2016: Intense sediment transport: Collisional to turbulent suspension. Physics of Fluids, 28, 023302, doi: 10.1063/1.4941770.

Formetta, G., Bancheri M., Rigon R., Testing site-specific parameterizations of longwave radiation integrated in a GIS-based hydrological model,  Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4641-4654, 2016

doi:10.5194/hess-20-4641-2016

Geneletti, Sartori, Schiavo, 2016. The impact of climate and land use change on agriculture in Europe: A computable general equilibrium analysis, Mimeo.

Larcher, M., Jenkins, J.T., 2015: “The evolution of segregation in dense inclined flows of binary mixtures of spheres”. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 782, 405-429.

Rigon R., Bancheri M., Green T., Age-ranked hydrological budgets and a travel time description of catchment hydrology, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4929-4947, 2016,

doi:10.5194/hess-20-4929-2016}

Rigon R. , Bancheri M. , Formetta G. , deLavenne A. , The geomorphic unit hydrograph from a historical-critical perspective, Earth Sci. Proc. and Landforms, 41(1), 27-37, 2016.

Sartori, Schiavo, Fracasso, Riccaboni, 2016. Modeling the future evolution of the virtual water trade network: A combination of network and gravity models. SIS Working Paper No 2016-4, August 2016 (inviato a Advances in Water Resource Management).

Scolozzi R., Geneletti D., 2016: The anthroposphere as an anticipatory system: Open questions on steering the climate. Sci. Total Environ. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.086.

Wuletawu's Abera Ph.D. defense

This illustrate the long and detailed work of Wuletawu Abera during his Ph.D. His topic was modelling the whole hydrological cycle, meaning, all the components together with JGrass-NewAGE. 

In order to do this, he had to line up several tools, partition the basins, interpolate meteorological data, to go crazy when the data were not available. Calibrate the submodels, each one by each one with available data; doing educated guesses, when any other option was inexistent. He introduces the use of satellite data in JGrass-NewAGE, and, I think, he did it well.  He never gave up when I bother him. And I think he did a god job. Click on the Figure above to access his presentation. His thesis is available upon request to the Author wuletawu979  <AT > gmail.com.
Wuletawu maintains his own blog where you can find his thoughts and achievements.

Methodology and tools for analyzing the hydrology of catchments: four papers and a set of slides and videos.

Recently I recommended 5 papers of mine, which I consider  representative of my recent work. However, they are on the side of the theory/numerics/informatics work. Not less important are those that could be erroneously classified as applications. The four papers presented here, in fact, represent more than a straightforward run of models to individual catchments. They deploy a comprehensive methodology that integrates traditional surface water systems with new features and methods. Their approach combines mixed-resolution spatial discretization through strategic Hydrological Response Unit (HRU) refinement with accurate pre-analysis of the input multi-source validation using neutron probes (as representative of local field measurements), satellite data, and conventional discharge observations.

The modular GEOframe implementation provides flexible model configuration while preserving physical consistency and enabling validation of individual modeling components. A key finding across these papers is that careful analysis of input data can guide model organization and improve  predictions. Each paper targets complete water budget estimation, identifying inconsistencies and providing more robust assessments of catchment hydrology than traditional modeling approaches than the traditional simulation based on discharge alone.

These studies introduce  analytical tools that should become standard practice for catchment hydrology modelers and gently use Earth Observations in their specific contexts. The collective work establishes a framework where data-driven model organization, multi-source validation, and comprehensive water budget analysis modelling try to converge to advance our understanding of hydrological processes at the catchment scale.  Part of the lesson learned from these papers has been also summarized in the set of "Seven Steps in Modeling a catchment", a series of slides and videos that can be considered complementary to reading the papers.  

Much more can be done using the flexibility of the GEOframe system which remains undisclosed.

References

Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Luca Brocca, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Modeling the Water Budget of the Upper Blue Nile Basin Using the JGrass-NewAge Model System and Satellite Data.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 21 (6): 3145–65. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3145-2017.

Andreis, D; Formetta, G.;Bancheri, M. and Rigon R., Multiple Resolution Analysis of an Alpine Basin. submitted to Water Resources Research, 2025. Preprint

Abera, Wuletawu, Giuseppe Formetta, Marco Borga, and Riccardo Rigon. 2017. “Estimating the Water Budget Components and Their Variability in a Pre-Alpine Basin with JGrass-NewAGE.” Advances in Water Resources 104 (June): 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.03.010.

Azimi, Shima, Christian Massari, Giuseppe Formetta, Silvia Barbetta, Alberto Tazioli, Davide Fronzi, Sara Modanesi, Angelica Tarpanelli, and Riccardo Rigon. 2023. “On Understanding Mountainous Carbonate Basins of the Mediterranean Using Parsimonious Modeling Solutions.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 27 (24): 4485–4503. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4485-2023.

Seven Steps Into Catchments analysis by Hydrological models

 First step: Overall

Define the overall scope of the analysis. (e.g. Blöschl et al., 2019)

Document about the literature existing on the catchments. Including papers appeared in any type of studies.  Choose a large set of  performances indicators (depending on the model use and objectives) (Addor et al., 2017).  Set a strategy for assessing the results uncertainty and variability. (e.g. Clark et al., )

Second step: Geomorphology

Extract the catchment from DEM by state-of-art  analysis tools (as TauDEM or the Horton Machine Toolbox). Investigate if the surface catchment corresponds to the effective catchment (i.e. if including/excluding karst is an option). Control the surface water network extension (talk at the GSS2021). Analyze the presence and the number of lakes/reservoirs. Pay attention to endorheic catchments. Discuss the catchment connectivity.

Third step: Hydrological Data

Analyze the time series of available data and make a comparison  between rainfall and runoff amounts. Analyze any other time series or map time series, like  map of snow and evapotranspiration (Abera et al., 2017). Define the calibration set and the validation set.

Fourth step: Modelling Setup

Setup the space partitioning in hydrologic response units  (e.g. Dal Molin, 2021). Discuss the data density required (or possible) to give robust results or, viceversa, reduce your objectives to something achievable with the data available.   Choose the model among existing ones for adequacy not for legacy (Addor, 2019).  Choose a model structure as hypothesis zero (Fenicia and Kavetski, 2021, VimeoVideo).*  Setup the modelling solution (MS). Choose the better modelling structure (Clark et al., 2011).  Analyze the MS  parameters and discuss their variability.  Plan the model runs thinking to open science protocols (Hall et al., 2021). 

Fifth step: Modelling Execution

Executing the model, including discharges, snow and ET. Annotate the model performances issues. 

Sixth step: Results Delivery

Show the results appropriately (discharge analysis is not the only one quantity to watch at).  Analyze the performances of indicators. Add comments and discussion. Assess results confidence.

Seventh step: Deployment

Deploy the results for open science and public discussion (e.g. Hall et al., 2021). 

Notes

*With regards to the modelling structure, if you are using ODEs for modelling, consider a standard way to visualize and describe the model structure. As many know, the Extended Petri Net can be a sound way to do it. 

Some Slides and Videos about the above topics:

• Seven Steps in Modelling I-III Overall Analysis,, Geomorphology, The Data (Vimeo2023)
  
• (Vimeo2022)
• 4 - Modelling setup, Calibration/Validation 
• (Vimeo2022)
• 5-6-7 Executing, Delivery of the results , Preparing for Open Science 
• (Vimeo2022)

References

Abera, W., G. Formetta, and L. Brocca. 2017. “Modeling the Water Budget of the Upper Blue Nile Basin Using the JGrass-NewAge Model System and Satellite Data.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/517346/.

Addor, Nans, Andrew J. Newman, Naoki Mizukami, and Martyn P. Clark. 2017. “The CAMELS Data Set: Catchment Attributes and Meteorology for Large-Sample Studies.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 21 (10): 5293–5313.

Addor, N., and L. A. Melsen. 2019. “Legacy, Rather Than Adequacy, Drives the Selection of Hydrological Models.” Water Resources Research 55 (1): 378–90.

Blöschl, Günter, Marc F. P. Bierkens, Antonio Chambel, Christophe Cudennec, Georgia Destouni, Aldo Fiori, James W. Kirchner, et al. 2019. “Twenty-Three Unsolved Problems in Hydrology (UPH) – a Community Perspective.” Hydrological Sciences Journal 64 (10): 1141–58.

Clark, Martyn P., Andrew G. Slater, David E. Rupp, Ross A. Woods, Jasper A. Vrugt, Hoshin V. Gupta, Thorsten Wagener, and Lauren E. Hay. 2008. “Framework for Understanding Structural Errors (FUSE): A Modular Framework to Diagnose Differences between Hydrological Models.” Water Resources Research, Water Sci. Appl., 44 (12): 2135.

Clark, Martyn P., Dmitri Kavetski, and Fabrizio Fenicia. 2011. “Pursuing the Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses for Hydrological Modeling: HYPOTHESIS TESTING IN HYDROLOGY.” Water Resources Research 47 (9). https://doi.org/10.1029/2010wr009827.

Dal Molin, Marco. 2021. “Improvement and Application of Flexible Frameworks for Modelling Regional Streamflow Variability.” Edited by Marco Schirmer Fabrizio Fenicia. Ph.D., Université de Neuchâtel.

Fenicia, Fabrizio, and Dmitri Kavetski. 2021. “Behind Every Robust Result Is a Robust Method: Perspectives from a Case Study and Publication Process in Hydrological Modelling.” Hydrological Processes 35 (8). https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14266.

Hall, Caitlyn A., Sheila M. Saia, Andrea L. Popp, Nilay Dogulu, Stanislaus J. Schymanski, Niels Drost, Tim van Emmerik, and Rolf Hut. 2021. “A Hydrologist’s Guide to Open Science.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-392.