How to calibrate

IHMS/HBV




Version 1.1

2003-06-26
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 3
2 STARTING VALUES ........................................................................................... 3
3 CALIBRATION .................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Volume parameters ................................................................................................................................. 5
3.2 Snow parameters ..................................................................................................................................... 5
3.3 Soil parameters ....................................................................................................................................... 5
3.4 Response parameters .............................................................................................................................. 6
3.5 Damping parameters .............................................................................................................................. 7
4 EVALUATION OF THE MODEL RESULT .......................................................... 7
5 CHECKLIST ........................................................................................................ 7
6 MORE GOOD ADVICES ..................................................................................... 8
7 REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 8
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1 Introduction

This material has been written down for the training programme for the IHMS/HBV system.
Some advices about starting values and the calibration process are given here. In chapter six
there are some common advices given about the IHMS/HBV. For further information about
the parameters and how they react, the IHMS manual version 4.5 should be consulted.

2 Starting values
The following values are recommended as starting values for the parameters when a new
basin/subbasin is to be calibrated. The bold parameters should be calibrated so that they
become unique for each basin. The remaining parameters are normally not calibrated.

Table 1. Table showing suitable starting values for parameters and recommended interval. The bold ones are
those that should be calibrated, the others are normally not calibrated.
Parameter Starting
value
Approx
interval
Comments
Pcorr 1.0 Factor for precipitation. Used when correcting
non-homogenous series.
Pcalt 0.1 Factor for precipitation changing with altitude
Pcaltl 800 Highest level when pcalt is used. Locked to the
highest forested level.
Pcaltup 0.0 Factor for precipitation falling in areas above
pcaltl.
Pcaltgl 0.1 Factor for precipitation in areas with glaciers
situated above pcaltl.
Tcalt 0.6 Decrease of temperature with altitude taken per
100 meter.
Rfcf 1.0 0.9 1.3 Factor for precipitation as rain. Multiplied by
pcorr. The quota rfcf/sfcf =max 1.5.
Sfcf 1.0 0.8 1.4 Factor for precipitation as snow. Multiplied by
pcorr.
Fosfcf 0.8 Multiplied by sfcf for forested areas.
Cfmax 3.0 2 4.5 Factor for snowmelt [mm/C, day]. Governs the
rate of snowmelt.
Focfmax 0.6 Multiplied by cfmax for forested areas Governs
the rate of snowmelt in forested areas.
Tt 0.0 -2 - 2 Threshold temperature for precipitation. Decides
whether it falls as snow or rain [C].
Dttm -0.5 -2 - 2 Value added to tt to reach threshold temperature
for snowmelt [C].
Tti 0 0.5 0 2.5 Threshold temperature interval. Governs
precipitation as sleet. Tt is in the middle of the
interval.
Gmelt 4.0 Factor for melting of glaciers [mm/C, day].
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Cfr 0.05 Factor for refreezing in the snowpack.
Parameter Starting
value
Approx
interval
Comments
Whc 0.1 Waterholding capacity for the snowpack.
Sfdistfo Use a value
for the
region
Snow distribution in forested areas.
Sfdistfi Use a value
for the
region
Same as sfdistfo, but for areas with no forest.
Sclass 3 Number of snow classes.
Fc Use a value
for the
region
100 - 1500 Maximum soil moister storage [mm].
Lp 1.0 <=1 Limit for potential evapotranspiration.
Beta 1.0 1 - 4 Exponent in the equation for discharge from the
zone of soil water.
Cflux 0.5 0 - 2 Capillary flow from the upper response box to the
zone of soil water.
Cevpfo 1.15 Factor for potential evapotranspiration in forested
areas.
Athorn 0.25 0.2 0.3 If >0 a simplified version of Thornthwaites
equation is used. Unit [mm/day C].
Stf 2 Describes seasonal variations in respect of
athorn.
K4 0.01 0.001 0.1 Recession coefficient for the lower response box.
Perc 0.5 0.01 - 6 Percolation from the upper to the lower response
box [mm/day].
Khq 0.09 0.005 0.2 Recession coefficient for the upper response box
when the discharge is HQ.
Hq Should be
calculated
May be calculated as (MQ*MHQ)
1/2
*
86.4/(area in
km
2
)

or

MHQ/2
*
86.4/(area in km
2
). Unit [mm].
Not to be calibrated.
Alfa 0.9 0.5 1.1 Used in the equation Q =k*UZ
(alfa+1)
.
Maxbas 1 1 - 5 Number of days (doesnt have to be an integer) in
the transformation routine.
Cevpl 1.1 Evaporation from lakes. Multiplied by the
potential evapotranspiration.
Lakedays 30 The deeper the lake, the higher value.
Ttice 0.0 Above this water temperature there is no ice
covering the lakes.
recstep 999 Number of steps/days is automatically checked.


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3 Calibration
The normal procedure when calibrating manually is to calibrate the parameters in a certain
order. This order ought to be the following:

1. Volume parameters
2. Snow parameters
3. Soil parameters
4. Response parameters
5. Damping parameters

The procedure of calibration can be done automatically but it is very important to have a good
knowledge of the parameters before starting to calibrate automatically.

3.1 Volume parameters

Start to calibrate the parameters that influence the total volume. Those parameters are
pcorr, sfcf and rfcf. Pcorr is normally equal to 1.0 and should normally not be calibrated.
Instead, concentrate on sfcf and rfcf. Start by adjusting the total volume of the spring flood by
observing the curve describing the accumulated difference of volume during the spring flood.
Work with sfcf until this volume is all right. Sfcf is normally somewhere between 0.8 and 1.4.
The factor is often less in forested areas (fosfcf
*
sfcf) compared to open land.

When the volume of the spring flood looks fine, errors in the volume for the rest of the year
may be handled with rfcf. Rfcf should normally be in the interval of 0.9 and 1.3 and the quota
between rfcf and sfcf, (rfcf/sfcf), should not be bigger than 1.5. Finally some time should be
spent to calibrate fc since this parameter also influences the total volume.

3.2 Snow parameters
Thereafter, adjust the parameters governing the accumulation of snow and the snowmelt (tt,
dttm, tti and cfmax). Tt should be studied in order to get the time when the snow accumulation
begins. Dttm (e.g. tt + dttm) is calibrated in order to get the time of the snowmelt in the spring
and during occasional periods of snowmelt during the winter. Tt and dttm has the unit C.
While tt and dttm decides the moment when the snowmelt begins, cfmax is the parameter that
decides the rate of snowmelt. Hence, the slope of the discharge curve is governed by cfmax
during melting periods. Cfmax has the unit [mm/C and day].

3.3 Soil parameters
The soil routine in the HBV-model is governed by two rather simple relations, see figure1,
and the four parameters fc, lp, beta and athorn. At low soil moisture levels most of the
precipitation is kept within the unsaturated zone. The share of precipitation contributing to the
discharge increases gradually as the soil moisture increases as a bigger part of the area reaches
its field capacity. This process is run by fc and beta.

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0. 0
SM
0. 0
1. 0
Q/ P=( SM/ FC)
FC
0. 0
SM
0. 0
1. 0
E
a
/ E
pot
FC LP
SM - computed soil moisturestorage
P - contribution fromrainfall or snowmelt
Q - contribution to theresponse function
FC - maximumsoil moisturestorage
- empirical coefficient
E
pot
- potential evapotranspiration
E
a
- computed actual evapotranspiration
LP - limit for potential evapotranspiration

Figure 1. To the left is the contribution to the discharge (dQ) from rain or snowmelt (dP) at different soil
moisture levels. To the right is the relation between potential (E
pot
), and actual evapotranspiration (E
a
).
Calibrate the parameters fc, lp and beta by mainly observing summer and autumn discharge.
These parameters also influence the total volume. If, for instance, fc is too high, one might see
that the soil water level is increasing during the spring flood. This is seen as small humps in
the SM curve.

The potential evapotranspiration is calculated by the model (if athorn >0), by a simplified
variation of Thorntwaites equation:

Potential evapotranspiration =Athorn * T ( =0 if T <0)

Athorn should be calibrated and normally falls within the interval 0.2 and 0.3. The cflux
parameter, which also belongs to the soil water routine describes the capillary flow from the
upper response box to the zone of soil water.
3.4 Response parameters
Now it is time to calibrate the response parameters, k4, perc, khq, hq and alfa. These
parameters distribute the calculated discharge in time and thus are influencing the shape of the
hydrograph but not the total volume.

Hq is mainly calculated as (MQ*MHQ)

*
86.4/(area in km
2
), or as MHQ/2
*
86.4/(area in km
2
)
for the observed discharge. MQ is mean flow and MHQ is the mean high flow. Hq is not
calibrated after it has been calculated. In order to calibrate khq, the recession in summer and
autumn discharges should be studied. A higher khq results in higher peaks and a more
dynamic response in the hydrograph. When the summer and autumn discharges as well as the
dynamics of the peaks are simulated satisfactory, alfa is to be calibrated. Alfa is used in order
to fit the higher peaks into the hydrograph. The higher alfa the higher the peaks and the
quicker the recession.

The baseflow is adjusted with perc and k4. The baseflow is preferably studied during the
minimum flow periods during summer and winter. The level of the baseflow is adjusted with
perc as a low value of perc results in a low baseflow. K4 describes the recession of the
baseflow so that the slope of it is correct. It is important to notify that when calibrating the
baseflow, it is a must to have a large scale or even to print a table with the actual values. This
is because the differences between the observed and calculated hydrograph are difficult to see
in these minimum flow parts.

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3.5 Damping parameters
Finally, if necessary, the damping parameter maxbas is calibrated. Maxbas describes whether
the area responds quickly or slowly.

The damping between subbasins is handled by the LAG parameter, which is set in Subbasin
links in the path.par file. Preferably it is calculated. The velocity within alpine areas may
be estimated to approximately 0.1-0.15 m/s while the velocity in the remaining areas can be
taken to be approximately 0.06 m/s. If applying LAG doesnt improve R
2
or makes the
hydrograph look better when visually inspecting it, it shouldnt be used at all.

4 Evaluation of the model result
While calibrating, it is important to have a good method of evaluating the results. In
IHMS/HBV this is mainly done in three different ways:

Visually inspecting and comparing the calculated and the observed hydrograph
Calculating the accumulated difference between the calculated and the observed discharge

Accdiff = (Q
C
- Q
R
) C
t
,

Q
C
=simulated discharge
Q
R
=observed discharge
C =coefficient transforming to mm over the basin
t =time

Calculating the explained variance, R
2
:

( ) ( )
( )

R
=
QR - QR - QC - QR
QR - QR
2
2
mean
2
2
mean

QR
mean
=Mean QR over the calibration period.

A perfect model would result in an R
2
equal to 1. However, normally the R
2
ends up
somewhere between 0.8 and 0.95. Naturally, this is only the case when there are good quality
input data.

5 Checklist
In order to be able to study the model for longer periods, it is a good help to construct some
kind of checklist. Otherwise it will be difficult to remember and evaluate how many years that
were good and how many were not. In table 2, an example of a checklist can be seen.
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Table 2. Example of a checklist used to evaluate the model during a longer period. Each year is studied by its
own. Finally, when all years are added together, it is possible to see if there are some trends. With this as an aid,
it is possible to draw conclusions about which parameters that should be recalibrated.
To study for each year
Starting time of snow
accumulation
Too early
I I I I
Too late
I I
Baseflow Too low
I
Too high
I I I I
Starting time of snowmelt Too early
I
Too late
I I
Sfcf +
I I I
-

Cfmax Too quick
I
Too slow
I I
Summer discharges Too low
I I I I
Too high
I I
Autumn discharges Too low
I I
Too high
I I I I I

6 More good advice
If there is no rating curve for relatively large lakes, then construct an artificial one.
For dams with no documented storage curve, an artificial curve my be constructed and
used.
The surface area of the reservoir at maximum pool elevation can be extracted from the
storage curve and put into the zone classification for each subbasin in the zon.par file.
Starting point for the pool level may be put as the maximum pool elevation into the
starting conditions in the instate.dat file.
All available reservoir tables should be used.
Use the branch.par file to describe the connections between the subbasins. This cannot
yet be done via the menus but should be made directly to the file with the aid of, for
instance, Notepad.


7 References
IHMS, Integrated Hydrological Modelling System, Manual Version 4.5
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Ulrika Harbman 2004-04-07


Calibration hints

Calibration steps

Before the calibration can be done the model has to be set up for the new district (see chapters
2, 5 and 7 in the manual).

Calibration hints etc. is also described in chapter 2.2 in the Manual.

The calibration should be done in the following steps:
1. Enter parameters and set start values. Enter the local parameter values for each subbasin.
2. Make sure that the output variables that are needed for the evaluation in graph of the
calibration have been selected.
3. Decide the calibration and validation periods from existing Q- and W-data. If possible, use
about 10 years for calibration and 5 years for verification period.
4. Set up the model for local calibration.
5. Create an initial state and run the model for about one year to get a good initial state.
Check in a graph that the value of the accumulated difference is not large in the beginning
of the time period. Save the end state. Initial states should start at a time when the storage
is about the same every year. In Sweden, the initial state usually starts October 1.
6. Run the calibration period (use the saved end state as initial state) with start parameter
values for comparison.
7. Calibrate the parameters manually until satisfactory results: visually and of R
2
and the
accumulated difference.
8. Run the verification period and check the result.
9. When satisfactory calibration results have been achieved, enter in in the subbasin links
to link all subbasins.
10. Check that the results for total inflow (including outflow from upstream discharge
stations, with linked in) is satisfactory in graph, for R
2
and the accumulated difference.
Otherwise more local calibration might be needed in some/all subbasins contributing to
the total inflow. In that case, again set up the model for local calibration (see 4.). Then go
back to 7.

Local calibration

The subbasins need to be calibrated locally. This means that the parameters will only be tuned
in for local inflow to that subbasin, i.e. for water coming from that subbasin (water from
upstream subbasins excluded). Before calibrating the parameters, schematisation of the
subbasins needs some adjustments in order to calibrate each subbasin locally. Adjustments for
local calibration is done as follows:

1. Enter noin and station number for upstream discharge station in the subbasin links
(chapter 7.3). Enter also the upstream discharge station in the station weights (chapter
7.3). With noin the outflow from upstream discharge stations will be subtracted from the
observed outflow. Furthermore, the changes in storage, by means of observed water level,
will be used and the observed inflow will be calculated.

With noin it is only possible to calibrate with the variable qrinfl totmean (i.e. total observed
inflow to outlet lake/reservoir). This variable is in the model calculated from the total
observed outflow from the subbasin (qrout totmean) and change of the observed water stage
in the outlet lake.

For subbasins with regulated/unregulated outlet lakes the total observed outflow from the
subbasin (qrout totmean) and the observed water stage in the outlet lake have to be input to
the model. If total observed inflow to outlet lake/reservoir is already prepared as input to the
model the calculation of qrinfl totmean is not needed in the model. The calibration is done
with qrinfl totmean. When calibrating, possible rating curves (file RATING.PAR) and
regulation schemes (file REGTAB.PAR) in the subbasins below the noin point needs to be
temporarily deleted (or renamed). However, for unregulated lakes in border subbasins (most
upstream), rating curves can be used.

For subbasins without an outlet lake the calibration is also done with qrinfl totmean. In this
case, without an outlet lake, the simulated inflow is the same as the simulated outflow and
hence qrinfl totmean is equal to qrout totmean.

Start of calibration

The parameters that should be used are the HBV96-parameters (see explanation in chapter
8.4.1 in the HBV Manual). Do not use K0, uzl0, k1, uzl1, k2, uzl2 and k3 as they are not
HBV96-parameters. Observe that the parameter TTI is changed to TTINT. Normally the
following parameters are used:

Parameter Start value Interval Comment
PCORR 1
PCALT 0.1
TCALT 0.6
RFCF 1 0.9-1.3
SFCF 1 0.8-1.4
FOSFCF 0.8
CFMAX 3.5 2-4.5
FOCFMAX 0.6
TT 0 -2-2
DTTM 0 -2-2
TTINT 2 0-2.5
GMELT 4
CFR 0.05
WHC 0.1
SFDISTFO 0.2 0-1 In areas with high
mountains and in
forested areas close to
mountains the
distribution of snow is
larger, 0-1
SFDISTFI 0.5 0-1 In areas with high
mountains and in
forested areas close to
mountains the
distribution of snow is
larger, 0-1
SCLASS (3) 3
FC 150 100-300 Sensitive due to type
of area
LP 1 0.5-1
BETA 1 1-4 Should not be smaller
than 1
CFLUX 0 0-2
CEVPFO 1.15
K4 0.01 0.001-0.1
PERC 0.5 0.01-6
KHQ 0.09 0.005-0.5
HQ Calculate HQ=(MQ*MHQ)

*86.4/(area in km
2
)
ALFA 0.9 0.5-1.1
MAXBAS 1 1-5
CEVPL 1.1
LAKEDAYS 30
TTICE 0
RECSTEP 999

For the calibration of HQ:
MQ =mean discharge during period,
MHQ=mean of all yearly maximum of discharge during period
MQ and MHQ should be local discharge if calibration is done locally. When calibrating with
qrinfl totmean for a subbasin with an outlet lake, MQ and MHQ should be the inflow to the
lake. For subbasins without an outlet lake, MQ and MHQ should be the outflow from the
subbasin.

For subbasins where there are no glaciers, parameters dealing with glaciers are not needed.

Those parameters in bold are those that need to be calibrated (see below). Use the start values
given in the table above as start values. Otherwise, in case we send start values specific for
your countries, use those.

First set starting values of all the parameters. Only some of the parameters should then be
calibrated (below).

The parameters are then mainly calibrated in the following order:

1. Important to set a proper value for FC!
2. Volume, SFCF, RFCF
3. Snow melt and accumulation, TT, DTTM, TTINT, CFMAX
4. Soil moisture, FC, LP and BETA, CFLUX.(RFCF).
5. Hydrograph shape, KHQ, ALFA, K4, PERC and MAXBAS.

Below follow some hints when calibrating these 4 steps.

The advice is to calibrate one parameter at a time following the order below.

1. Volume

Start with the spring flood volumes by adjusting the snowfall correction factor SFCF and
studying the curve of accumulated difference. SFCF is calibrated to get the volume right
during the snow periods. Look at the accdiff curve during the period with snow. The value of
accdiff should be the same at the start and at the end of the snow period. As SFCF also takes
the effect of winter evaporation into account, it is often less then 1, and it is usually lower for
forests then for open areas.

Then calibrate RFCF, the rainfall correction factor, by studying the curve of accumulated
difference at time periods without snow. The ratio RFCF/SFCF should be 1.5.

2. Snow melt and accumulation

At temperatures near freezing the greatest effect is obtained by altering the threshold
temperature for snow accumulation, TT, and for snow melting, DTTM. TT is calibrated to get
the start of snow accumulation in autumn right. DTTM is calibrated to get the start of the
snowmelt right in time (a change in TT also affects snowmelt).

The snowmelt factor, CFMAX (mm/C and day), regulates the rate of snowmelt.

3. Soil moisture

Calibrate the soil moisture parameters FC, LP and BETA by studying summer and autumn
flows. These parameters are the ones that most clearly affect the simulated runoff volume,
together with PCORR, RFCF and SFCF. However they do not directly affect the shape of the
hydrograph.

The field capacity (FC) represents the largest possible amplitude in soil moisture storage. This
can be found by studying the response to seasonal rainfall after long dry period. If the soil
appears to be filled up to rapidly, you may increase FC and vice versa. By studying the graph
of SM during spring flood you can see if the value is too high, SM then is built up during
spring flood. If the model consequently overestimates the runoff in periods when the soil
moisture storage SM is almost full, i.e. after long periods of rain, you have to decrease the
RFCF factor. If the model overestimates the volume in response to rainfall in dry periods, try
to increase BETA.

Also calibrate CFLUX.

4. Hydrograph shape

The response function (with parameters KHQ, ALFA, K4 and PERC) distributes the
generated runoff in time and consequently influences the shape of the hydrograph, but does
not affect the volume. KHQ determines the magnitude and recession of the peaks, and K4
determines the recession of the base flow. If the base flow is overestimated, the percolation
PERC can be decreased. High values of KHQ will give higher peaks and quicker dynamic.
Low values of KHQ will act in the opposite way. The parameter ALFA influences the higher
peeks. A higher value of ALFA will give higher peeks and a faster recession.

Finally the MAXBAS parameter can be used, if the sub-basin has a time of concentration
exceeding the time step of the calculations.

It should be noted that the calibration is an interactive process, and it may be necessary to
review all the parameters once you have gone through the list of suggestions in this step.

Checklist

To have control of the model during longer periods it could be vice to make some sort of
checklist. It is often difficult to remember how many years turned out to be well simulated or
not by looking at the graphs. An example of checklist for a calibration period of a number of
years is showed below.

To study during all years
Start of snow accumulation Too soon: IIII Too late: II
Base flow To low: I Too high: IIII
Start of snow melt Too early: I Too late: II
Sfcf +: III - : I
Cfmax Too quick: II Too slow: IIII
Summer floods Too low: III Too high: II
Autumn floods Too low: II Too high: IIIII