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Benchmark Framework for Global River Model (Version 1.0)
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  • Xudong Zhou,
  • Dai Yamazaki,
  • Menaka Revel,
  • Gang Zhao,
  • Prakat Modi
Xudong Zhou
The University of Tokyo

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Dai Yamazaki
University of Tokyo
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Menaka Revel
University of Tokyo
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Gang Zhao
The University of Tokyo
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Prakat Modi
The University of Tokyo
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Abstract

Global River Models (GRMs), which simulate river flow and flood processes, have rapidly developed in recent decades. However, these advancements necessitate meaningful and standardized quality assessments and comparisons against a suitable set of observational variables using appropriate metrics, a requirement currently lacking within GRM communities. This study proposes the implementation of a benchmark system designed to facilitate the assessment of river models and enables comparisons against established benchmarks. The benchmark system incorporates satellite remote sensing data, including water surface elevation and inundation extent information, with necessary preprocessing. Consequently, this evaluation system encompasses a larger geographical area compared to traditional methods relying solely on in-situ river discharge measurements for GRMs. A set of evaluation and comparison metrics has been developed, including a quantile-based comparison metric that allows for a comprehensive analysis of multiple simulation outputs. The test application of this benchmark system to a global river model (CaMa-Flood), utilizing diverse runoff inputs, illustrates that the incorporation of bias-corrected runoff data leads to improved model performance across various observational variables and performance metrics. The current iteration of the benchmark system is suitable for global-scale assessments and can effectively evaluate the impact of model development as well as facilitate intercomparisons among different models. The source codes are accessiable from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10903211.
05 Apr 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
08 Apr 2024Published in ESS Open Archive