Preprints
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2404.14212
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2404.14212
03 Jun 2024
 | 03 Jun 2024

Toward Routing River Water in Land Surface Models with Recurrent Neural Networks

Mauricio Lima, Katherine Deck, Oliver R. A. Dunbar, and Tapio Schneider

Abstract. Machine learning is playing an increasing role in hydrology, supplementing or replacing physics-based models. One notable example is the use of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) for forecasting streamflow given observed precipitation and geographic characteristics. Training of such a model over the continental United States has demonstrated that a single set of model parameters can be used across independent catchments, and that RNNs can outperform physics-based models. In this work, we take a next step and study the performance of RNNs for river routing in land surface models (LSMs). Instead of observed precipitation, the LSM-RNN uses instantaneous runoff calculated from physics-based models as an input. We train the model with data from river basins spanning the globe and test it in streamflow hindcasts. The model demonstrates skill at generalization across basins (predicting streamflow in unseen catchments) and across time (predicting streamflow during years not used in training). We compare the predictions from the LSM-RNN to an existing physics-based model calibrated with a similar dataset and find that the LSM-RNN outperforms the physics-based model. Our results give further evidence that RNNs are effective for global streamflow prediction from runoff inputs and motivate the development of complete routing models that can capture nested sub-basis connections.

Share

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

24 Jul 2025
Toward routing river water in land surface models with recurrent neural networks
Mauricio Lima, Katherine Deck, Oliver R. A. Dunbar, and Tapio Schneider
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3145–3164, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3145-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3145-2025, 2025
Short summary
Mauricio Lima, Katherine Deck, Oliver R. A. Dunbar, and Tapio Schneider

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1206', Anonymous Referee #1, 22 Jul 2024
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Mauricio Lima, 12 Sep 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1206', Anonymous Referee #2, 04 Oct 2024
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Mauricio Lima, 22 Oct 2024

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1206', Anonymous Referee #1, 22 Jul 2024
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Mauricio Lima, 12 Sep 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1206', Anonymous Referee #2, 04 Oct 2024
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Mauricio Lima, 22 Oct 2024

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
ED: Reconsider after major revisions (further review by editor and referees) (07 Nov 2024) by Micha Werner
AR by Mauricio Lima on behalf of the Authors (05 Dec 2024)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (29 Dec 2024) by Micha Werner
RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (08 Apr 2025)
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (18 Apr 2025) by Micha Werner
AR by Mauricio Lima on behalf of the Authors (25 Apr 2025)  Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

24 Jul 2025
Toward routing river water in land surface models with recurrent neural networks
Mauricio Lima, Katherine Deck, Oliver R. A. Dunbar, and Tapio Schneider
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 3145–3164, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3145-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3145-2025, 2025
Short summary
Mauricio Lima, Katherine Deck, Oliver R. A. Dunbar, and Tapio Schneider
Mauricio Lima, Katherine Deck, Oliver R. A. Dunbar, and Tapio Schneider

Viewed

Since the preprint corresponding to this journal article was posted outside of Copernicus Publications, the preprint-related metrics are limited to HTML views.

Total article views: 376 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total BibTeX EndNote
372 0 4 376 0 0
  • HTML: 372
  • PDF: 0
  • XML: 4
  • Total: 376
  • BibTeX: 0
  • EndNote: 0
Views and downloads (calculated since 03 Jun 2024)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 03 Jun 2024)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Since the preprint corresponding to this journal article was posted outside of Copernicus Publications, the preprint-related metrics are limited to HTML views.

Total article views: 360 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 360 with geography defined and 0 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 
Latest update: 24 Jul 2025
Download

The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

Short summary
Machine learning is playing an increasingly important role in hydrological modeling. In this paper, we introduce an adaptation of existing machine learning models forecasting streamflow in river basins, redesigning them with the goal of integrating them into climate models. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our adapted model by showing that it outperforms a physics-based river model. These results motivate further studies of the use of machine learning based river models inside climate models.
Share