A Review of Conceptual Monthly Water Balance Models

Document Type : review paper

Authors

• Iman Sane
• Bahram Saghafian

Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch

10.22067/jwsd.v5i1.62734

Abstract

Water balance models are generally based on mass continuity and the hydrologic cycle of water in the natural environment. Monthly water balance models evaluate the importance of various hydrological parameters under diverse hydrological conditions. As water balance models are becoming widespread, there is a significant effort devoted to the development of these models towards estimating the hydrological components of the basin. Different models and algorithms consider various parameters which range from relatively complex conceptual models for dry areas to very simple models for areas with temperate climates. Therefore, it is essential that these models be closely and precisely analysed, and ultimately, reviewed. Generally, rainfall data have long been recorded, but discharge data are often scarce. Therefore, the need to estimate the discharge of rivers resulted from rainfalls has motivated a great number of research in this area of study. In this paper, parameter naming in different models has been homogenised, presenting a clearer image of similarities and differences among different models. The overall framework of the models is similar and inspired by the Thornth Waite model. The input parameters are precipitation and temperature, and the output is the monthly runoff of the basin. All models include soil water storage capacity, evapotranspiration, and runoff. However, some of the models consist of water storage capacity layers, separation of rain and snow, groundwater storage, and base discharge. These differences in the number of parameters distinguish the models from each other.

Keywords

• Conceptual water balance model
• Hydrological cycle
• runoff estimation

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