HYPE - our hydrological model
HYPE stands for HYdrological Predictions for the Environment and is a semi-distributed catchment model. It simulates water flow and substances on their way from precipitation, through different storage compartments and fluxes, to the sea.
The model code is open source and describes hydrological processes in different subbasins, although the algorithms are not purely based on physical laws but are of more conceptual nature. It describes river flow generation from rainfall distribution and temperature. It is meant to be applied in a multi-basin manner to achieve high spatial distribution of flow paths in the landscape. It can be evaluated against point measurements in the river network and against spatially distributed observations.
The model was initiated in 2003, applied for all of Sweden in 2008, then for different continents and finally for the entire globe in 2019.
Among the model applications, the HYPE application for Sweden, S-HYPE, is the one most frequently used operationally. For instance, it is used for operational forecasting of floods and droughts, assessments of water quality, as well as impacts from hydro-morphological alterations and climate change in Sweden. It calculates evapotranspiration, snow storage and melt, soil moisture, groundwater fluctuations, routing in lakes and streams along the river network from source to sea.
The S-HYPE model is continuously developed and improved. The model has a large number of parameters, and is largely calibrated manually, making maximum use of hydrological judgement and experience. The S-HYPE model uses a daily time step. It is calibrated regionally, i.e. not tuned for individual stations but calibrated stepwise for specific hydrological processes using representative gauges from the full dataset to be robust enough for predictions also in ungauged basins. In addition to this, there are deviations in a handful of key parameters, such as precipitation and temperature corrections, for parameter regions.
Visit the HYPE website to learn more here (hypeweb.smhi.se)
External link.
Key publications
Arheimer, B., Pimentel, R., Isberg, K., Crochemore, L., Andersson, J. C. M., Hasan, A., and Pineda, L. (2020). Global catchment modelling using World-Wide HYPE (WWH), open data and stepwise parameter estimation. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 24, pp. 535-559.
Andersson, J.C.M., Arheimer B., Traoré, F., Gustafsson, D. and Ali, A. (2017). Process refinements improve a hydrological model concept applied to the Niger River basin. Hydrological Processes 31(25), pp. 4540-4554.
Arheimer, B., Donnelly, C. and Lindström, G. (2017). Regulation of snow-fed rivers affects flow regimes more than climate change. Nature Communications 8(62).
Donnelly, C, Andersson, J.C.M. and Arheimer, B. (2016). Using flow signatures and catchment similarities to evaluate a multi-basin model (E-HYPE) across Europe. Hydr. Sciences Journal 61(2), pp. 255-273.
Hundecha, Y., Arheimer, B., Donnelly, C. and Pechlivanidis, I. (2016). A regional parameter estimation scheme for a pan-European multi-basin model. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 6, pp. 90-111.
Lindström, G. (2016). Lake water levels for calibration of the S-HYPE model. Hydrology Research 47(4), pp. 672-682.
Arheimer, B., Nilsson, J. and Lindström, G. (2015). Experimenting with Coupled Hydro-Ecological Models to Explore Measure Plans and Water Quality Goals in a Semi-Enclosed Swedish Bay. Water 7(7), pp. 3906-3924.
Arheimer, B. and Lindström, G. (2015). Climate impact on floods: changes in high flows in Sweden in the past and the future (1911–2100), Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, pp. 771-784.
Pechlivanidis, I. G. and Arheimer, B. (2015). Large-scale hydrological modelling by using modified PUB recommendations: the India-HYPE case, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, pp. 4559-4579.
Pechlivanidis, I. G., Bosshard, T., Spångmyr, H., Lindström, G., Gustafsson, D. and Arheimer, B. (2014). Uncertainty in the Swedish Operational Hydrological Forecasting Systems. ASCE proceedings: Vulnerability, Uncertainty, and Risk, pp. 253-262.
Arheimer, B. and Lindström, G. (2014). Electricity vs Ecosystems – understanding and predicting hydropower impact on Swedish river flow. In: Evolving Water Resources Systems: Understanding, Predicting and Managing Water–Society Interactions Proceedings of ICWRS2014, Bologna, Italy, June 2014. IAHS Publ. 364: 313-319.
Pechlivanidis, I. G., Bosshard, T., Spångmyr, H., Lindström, G., Gustafsson, D. and Arheimer, B. (2014). Uncertainty in the Swedish Operational Hydrological Forecasting Systems. ASCE proceedings: Vulnerability, Uncertainty, and Risk. pp. 253-262.
Arheimer, B. and Lindström, L. (2013). Implementing the EU Water Framework Directive in Sweden. Chapter 11.20 in: Blöschl, G., Sivapalan, M., Wagener, T., Viglione, A. & Savenije, H. (Eds). Runoff Predictions in Ungauged Basins – Synthesis across Processes, Places and Scales. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. (p. 465) pp. 353-359.
Strömqvist, J., Arheimer, B., Dahné, J., Donnelly, C. and Lindström, G. (2012). Water and nutrient predictions in ungauged basins: set-up and evaluation of a model at the national scale, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57(2), pp. 229-247.
Lindström, G., Pers, C., Rosberg, J., Strömqvist, J. and Arheimer, B. (2010). Development and testing of the HYPE (Hydrological Predictions for the Environment) water quality model for different spatial scales. Hydrology Research 41.3–4, pp. 295-319.