computer science

HBV hydrology model

HBV hydrology model is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand HBV hydrology model rather than just read about it. In short: The HBV hydrology model, or Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning model, is a computer simulation used to analyze river discharge and water pollution. Developed originally for use in Scandinavia, this hydrological transport model has also been applied in a large number of catchments on most continents.

Key takeaways

HBV hydrology model belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect HBV hydrology model to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of HBV hydrology model from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The HBV hydrology model, or Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning model, is a computer simulation used to analyze river discharge and water pollution. Developed originally for use in Scandinavia, this hydrological transport model has also been applied in a large number of catchments on most continents.

Discharge modelling This is the major application of HBV, and has gone through much refinement. It comprises the following routines:

Snow routine Soil moisture routine Response function Routing routine The HBV model is a lumped (or semi-distributed) bucket-type (or also called 'conceptual') catchment model that has relatively few model parameters and minimal forcing input requirements, usually the daily temperature and the daily precipitation. First, the snow is calculated after defining a threshold melting temperature (TT usually 0 °C) and a parameter CMELT that reflects the equivalent melted snow for the difference of temperature. The result is divided into a surface runoff part and a part that enters the soil by infiltration. Second, the soil moisture is calculated after defining an initial value and the field capacity (FC). Third, the actual Evapotranspiration (ETPa) is calculated, first by using an external model (such as Penman-Monteith) for finding the potential ETP and then fitting the result to the temperatures and the permanent wilting point(PWP) of the catchment in question. A parameter C which reflects the increase in the ETP with the differences in temperatures (Actual Temperature and Monthly mean Temperature). The model considers the catchment as two reservoirs (S1 and S2) connected by a percolation flow. The inflow to the first reservoir is calculated as the surface runoff, which is what remains from the initial precipitation after calculating the infiltration and the evapotranspiration. The outflow from the first reservoir is divided into two separate flows (Q1 and Q2), where Q1 represents the fast flow which is triggered after a certain threshold L (defined by the user or by calibration) and Q2 represents the intermediate flow. A constant K1 is used to find the outflows as a function of the storage in S1. The percolation rate depends on a constant Kd along with the storage in S1. The outflow from the second reservoir is considered to be the groundwater flow (Q3), a function of a constant K2 and the storage in S2. The total flow generated from a certain rain event is the sum of the 3 flows. Calibration. The result of the model are later compared to the actual measured flow values and Nash-Sutcliffe parameter is used to calibrate the model by changing the different parameters. The model has 9 parameters in total: TT, Cmelt, FC, C, PWP, L, K1, K2, Kd. For a good calibration of the model it is better to use Monte-Carlo simulation or the GLUE method to properly define the parameters and the uncertainty in the model. The model is fairly reliable but as usual the need of good input data is essential for good results. The sensitivity of the HBV model to parameter uncertainty has been explored revealing significant parameter interactions affecting calibration uniqueness, and some state dependence. Applications. HBV has been used to simulate river discharge in many countries worldwide, including Brazil, China, Iran, Mozambique, Sweden, Switzerland and Zimbabwe. The HBV has also been used to simulate internal variables such as groundwater levels. The model has also been used for hydrological change detection studies and climate-change impact studies. Versions. The HBV model exists in several versions. One version, which has been especially designed for education with a user-friendly graphical user interface, is HBV light. HBV emulation is available as a part of Raven hydrologic framework. Raven is an open-source robust and flexible hydrological modelling framework, designed for application to challenging hydrological problems in academia and practice. This fully object-oriented code provides complete flexibility in spatial discretization, interpolation, process representation, and forcing function generation.

Sediment and solute modelling The HBV model can also simulate the riverine transport of sediment and dissolved solids. Lidén simulated the transport of nitrogen, phosphorus and suspended sediment in Brazil, Estonia, Sweden and Zimbabwe.

See also Hydrological transport model Runoff model

References

External links The HBV model at the Swedish Department of Climate (SMHI) HBV light at the University of Zurich HBV Matlab Code (lumped version) HBV-EC pre- and post-processor "Green Kenue" free download at the Canadian Hydraulics Centre HBV program in RS MINERVE at the CREALP (lumped version)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with HBV hydrology model

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what HBV hydrology model claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to HBV hydrology model before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about HBV hydrology model ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of HBV hydrology model

In research: HBV hydrology model appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses HBV hydrology model in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: HBV hydrology model is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer-aided engineering software, Hydrology models, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for HBV hydrology model outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study HBV hydrology model in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what HBV hydrology model means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain HBV hydrology model out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is HBV hydrology model in simple terms?

Why does HBV hydrology model matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study HBV hydrology model?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on HBV hydrology model.