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Current State of Hydrologic Modeling and its Limitations

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Abstract

This paper presents a brief description of commonly used hydrologic models. These include storm runoff models, deterministic models for generation of sequential streamflows, regression and stochastic models for extension of hydrologic data, and models for frequency analysis of floods and droughts and risk-based designs. The subjectivity and judgment involved in the estimation of input parameters for each model are indicated along with the effect of the estimated values of such parameters on the output of the model. For each model, several limitations to practical applications are described. In some cases, these limitations are attributable to inadequacy of data for calibration and verification of the model, complexity of programming algorithms, and numerousness of the input variables which have to be estimated by judgment. In others, e.g., determination of the probability of the PMF and the confidence limits of predictions for such extreme events, further research is required to develop analytical tools to yield results of desired accuracy. Areas of further research are identified to update the existing models or to develop new models to enable a practicing hydrologist to perform hydrologic analyses of water resources development projects with more certainty and better precision.

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© 1987 D. Reidel Publishing Company

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Prakash, A. (1987). Current State of Hydrologic Modeling and its Limitations. In: Singh, V.P. (eds) Flood Hydrology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3957-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3957-8_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8255-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3957-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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