A new scientific article, written by our senior researcher Valentina Premier and co-authors from Eurac and JRC- Joint Research Center has been published in the Journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, addressing how Earth Observation data can improve the representation of snow processes in large-scale hydrological models. The study, entitled “Assessing the impact of Earth Observation data-driven calibration of the melting coefficient on the LISFLOOD snow module”, focuses on the widely used continental hydrological model LISFLOOD and its snow module.
Snowmelt in LISFLOOD is simulated using a degree-day approach, in which the melting coefficient is traditionally calibrated against discharge observations together with the other many model parameters. In this work, the authors explore an alternative strategy by analysing the effect of a post-replacement of the snowmelt coefficient that has been calibrated using satellite-derived snow cover fraction. By integrating Sentinel 2 and MODIS observations, the study overcomes common limitations related to cloud cover, data gaps, and snow misclassification in complex terrain, producing an improved reference dataset for snow cover dynamics.
The analysis was conducted across nine European catchments with varying degrees of snow influence. Results show that standard calibration performs remarkably well. However, Earth Observation–based calibration of the snowmelt coefficient improves the representation of snow dynamics, reducing both bias and root mean square error. Although the revised calibration does not substantially alter discharge performance at the basin scale, changes are more relevant in smaller upstream parts of the catchments. Furthermore, it introduces shifts in the timing and magnitude of snowmelt and runoff in some cases.
These findings highlight the potential of using satellite snow observations to refine individual components of hydrological models without requiring a full model recalibration. This approach is particularly valuable in applications where an accurate representation of snow cover is critical, such as water resource assessment and climate impact studies in snow dominated regions.
The full article is openly available in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences; you can access it here.
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