Discharge simulations in the Blue Nile Basin for future climate change assessments

To be able to assess impact of climate change on watershed resources, for example the Blue Nile Basin, modelling of hydrology and sediment loss are crucial factors. Therefore calibrated models play an important role in the analysis of future risk and hazard assessment. This PhD in collaboration with the Water and Land Resource Centre in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia is trying to calibrate a hydrological model for the Blue Nile Basin and to apply a changing climate scenario for an assessment of risk and hazard. This blog post shows only an intermediate result of the final research.

Introduction

For the purpose of data comparison we did a calibration of the SWAT model with low-resolution and high-resolution input data. The results are shown in two double graphs (below). These show that you can link two time series for visualization purposes. This allows you to zoom in on one graph an to see the same section on the other graph. With that you can compare high-resolution and low-resolution simulation results on one single graph down to a monthly view. This dygraph time series graph allows you to zoom and look at details on the graph. A double click brings you back to the overview. This discharge and sediment loss series show you how measured and modeled data compare and how close to each other they are. Statistical results are not given.

Visualization technique for time series

A time series is a sequence of data points, typically consisting of successive measurements made over a time interval. A static time series allows for an overview of the total data but is not very helpful for details. A interactive visualization like this graph gives you several possibilites:

  • Allows for zooming in and zooming out
  • Allow zooming in multiple time lines simultaneously
  • Allows for direct comparison of results of several timelines
  • Allows for zooming in width and height simultaneously

  • With this visualization you are able to see details of a time series and have an overview within one click. For a visual data analysis this procedure is highly adapted.

    Further readings: One papers is available from the same authors on the problematic of watershed modelling in the Blue Nile Basin.

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