Comparison of HBV models, driven with weather station data and with MM5 meteorological model data

Abstract

A comparison of two HBV models is performed, one is driven with weather station data and the other with MM5 meteorological model output data. This was done for three wathersheds in Iceland, where HBV models using weather station data have been calibrated earlier. The purpose of the study is to estimate how well the MM5 model evaluates the precipitation in the selected watersheds, both considering the timing of events and the accumulated precipitation over a longer period. The study showed that meteorological output from the MM5 model gives important information for water balance studies in Iceland including prediction of runoff in ungauged watersheds. The correlation between measured discharge and calculated by the MM5 data driven HBV model is generally fairly good and the water balance for each water year was generally improved by using the MM5 data rather than data from the weather stations.