| 1. |
- Gong, Lebing
(författare)
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Large-scale Runoff Generation and Routing : Efficient Parameterisation using High-resolution Topography and Hydrography
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Water has always had a controlling influence on the earth’s evolution. Understanding and modelling the large-scale hydrological cycle is important for climate prediction and water-resources studies. In recent years large-scale hydrological models, including the WASMOD-M evaluated in the thesis, have increasingly become a main assessment tool for global water resources.The monthly version of WASMOD-M, the starting point of the thesis, revealed restraints imposed by limited hydrological and climate data quality and the need to reduce model-structure uncertainties. The model simulated the global water balance with a small volume error but was less successful in capturing the dynamics. In the last years, global high-quality, high-resolution topographies and hydrographies have become available. The main thrust of the thesis was the development of a daily WASMOD-M making use of these data to better capture the global water dynamics and to parameterise local non-linear processes into the large-scale model. Scale independency, parsimonious model structure, and computational efficiency were main concerns throughout the model development.A new scale-independent routing algorithm, named NRF for network-response function, using two aggregated high-resolution hydrographies, HYDRO1k and HydroSHEDS, was developed and tested in three river basins with different climates in China and North America. The algorithm preserves the spatially distributed time-delay information in the form of simple network-response functions for any low-resolution grid cell in a large-scale hydrological model.A distributed runoff-generation algorithm, named TRG for topography-derived runoff generation, was developed to represent the highly non-linear process at large scales. The algorithm, when inserted into the daily WASMOD-M and tested in same three basins, led to the same or a slightly improved performance compared to a one-layer VIC model, with one parameter less to be calibrated. The TRG algorithm also offered a more realistic spatial pattern for runoff generation.The thesis identified significant improvements in model performance when 1) local instead of global climate data were used, and 2) when the scale-independent NRF routing algorithm was used instead of a traditional storage-based routing algorithm. In the same time, spatial resolution of climate input and choice of high-resolution hydrography have secondary effects on model performance.Two high-resolution topographies and hydrographies were used and compared, and new techniques were developed to aggregate their information for use at large scales. The advantages and numerical efficiency of feeding high-resolution information into low-resolution global models were highlighted.
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| 2. |
- Mayotte, Jean-Marc
(författare)
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Virus Fate and Transport in Groundwater : Organic matter, uncertainty, and cold climate
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Water managers must balance the need for clean and safe drinking water with ever-increasing amounts of waste-water. A technique for treating and storing surface water called “managed aquifer recharge” (MAR) is frequently used to help maintain this balance. When MAR is used to produce drinking water, water managers must ensure that disease-causing microbial contaminants are removed from the water prior to its distribution. This thesis examined the processes responsible for removing a specific class of microbial contaminants called “enteric viruses” during MAR. Viruses are naturally removed in groundwater through adsorption and inactivation mechanisms. This thesis investigated how these virus removal mechanisms were affected by ionic strength (IS), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the age of the sand used in a MAR infiltration basin. This was done using batch and flow-through column experiments designed to mimic conditions characteristic of a basin infiltration MAR scheme in Uppsala, Sweden. Bacteriophage MS2 was used as a proxy for enteric viruses. All of the experiments were conducted at 4°C. Experimental data were modeled to describe the fate and transport of viruses in the infiltrated groundwater. Conventional least-squares optimization and generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) were compared as model fitting-approaches in order to determine how data uncertainty affects parameter estimates and model predictions. Results showed that the sand used in the infiltration basins accumulates adsorbed organic matter as it is exposed to infiltrating surface waters. This reduced the amount of MS2 that was removed due to adsorption and inactivation. Results from GLUE indicated that MS2 is more likely to inactivate in a time-dependent manner when in the presence of sand with high concentrations of organic matter. Both model fitting techniques indicated that virus attachment rates were significantly lower for sand with high organic carbon content. Neither methodology was capable of adequately capturing the kinetics of virus adsorption. Uncertainties in the experimental data had a large effect on the conclusions that could be drawn from fitted models. This study showed that the presence of natural organic matter reduces the value of the infiltration basin as a microbial barrier.
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| 3. |
- Reynolds Puga, José Eduardo, 1982-
(författare)
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Flood Prediction in data-scarce basins : Maximising the value of limited hydro-meteorological data
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Floods pose a threat to society that can cause large socio-economic damages and loss of life in many parts of the world. Flood-forecasting models are required to provide simulations at temporal resolutions higher than a day in basins with concentration times smaller than 24 h. However, data at such resolutions are commonly limited or not available, especially in developing or low-income countries. This thesis covers issues related to the scarcity and lack of high temporal-resolution hydro-meteorological data and explores methods where the value of existing data is maximised to improve flood prediction.By varying the starting time of daily records (the day definition), it was shown that this definition had large implications on model calibration and runoff simulation and therefore, should be considered in regionalisation and flood-forecasting applications. A method was developed to treat empirically model-parameter dependencies on the temporal resolution of data. Model parameters seemed to become independent of the temporal resolution of data when the modelling time-step was sufficiently small. Thus, if sub-daily forcing data can be secured, flood forecasting in basins with sub-daily concentration times may be possible using model-parameter values calibrated from time series of daily data. A new calibration method using only a few event hydrographs could improve flood prediction compared to a scenario with no discharge data. Two event hydrographs may be sufficient for calibration, but accuracy and reduction in uncertainty may improve if data on more events can be acquired. Using flood events above a threshold with a high frequency of occurrence for calibration may be as useful for flood prediction as using only extreme events with a low frequency of occurrence. The accuracy of the rainfall forecasts strongly influenced the predictive performance of a flood model calibrated with limited discharge data. Between volume and duration errors of the rainfall forecast, the former had the larger impact on model performance.The methods previously described proved to be useful for predicting floods and are expected to support flood-risk assessment and decision making during the occurrence of floods in data-scarce regions. Further studies using more models and basins are required to test the generality of these results.
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| 4. |
- Norén, Viveca, 1972-
(författare)
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When water becomes a threat : Risk assessment and risk management plans for floods and drinking water in Swedish practice
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Water is an essential but vulnerable resource. A shortage of good quality drinking water is a threat to human health and society as a whole. Abundance of water in the form of floods can also be a serious threat which can have consequences for the drinking water supply. To reduce these risks there is a need for systematic risk reduction. In the last decades a risk management approach has been developed in the management of both flood and drinking water risks. This means that a reactive, ad hoc management is being replaced by a more proactive and systematic approach where risks are analysed and evaluated as a basis for prioritising counter-measures. The complex nature of water issues has also made it evident that there is a need for a holistic view of the management, involving a variety of actors and sectors. An integrated management approach to floods and water resources has emerged.This thesis aims to examine how local level risk management, especially risk assessments, of floods and drinking water supply have been or can be performed in practice in Sweden. The existing practices have been characterised in relation to current risk management frameworks. Furthermore, the thesis aims to investigate how the effects of flood on drinking water supply have been considered in risk assessment methods and in flood risk management plans, as well as whether flood and drinking water risks have been considered in an integrated manner. The studies are based on interviews with flood risk managers in Swedish municipalities and Swedish water producers as well as on document studies of risk assessment methods and flood risk management plans.There are large variations between different municipalities and water producers in how, and to what extent, risk assessments have been performed. Some have performed very little, if any, risk assessment while others have worked systematically. The tools used are often those that are promoted by national agencies and are often less advanced than those described in the literature. The risk assessments do not always cover all relevant aspects of the risk and few actors have discussed an acceptable risk level. Flood risk assessments focus mostly on the exposure of objects to flood and investigate the consequences of such an exposure only to a limited extent. The incomplete risk assessments may result in a biased view of the risk which in turn can lead to poor decision-making. The theoretical knowledge about risk management is in many cases low and there is still often a practical approach. Strategic and holistic approaches are mostly lacking.The consequences of flood on drinking water supply are not known in detail and are not considered in detail in risk assessments commonly used in Sweden. There is an awareness of the need to coordinate the management of flood and water resources. However, despite the good intentions regarding integration, there are few signs in the risk assessments and risk management plans that integration is actually occurring.Both the risk management approach and integrated management have started to be implemented in Swedish flood and drinking water risk management. It is however on a basic level and it is still a long way to go. Further guidance and knowledge about risk management as well as commitment from and collaboration among all actors concerned is needed to make this development possible.
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| 5. |
- Westerberg, Ida, 1979-
(författare)
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Observational Uncertainties in Water-Resources Modelling in Central America : Methods for Uncertainty Estimation and Model Evaluation
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Knowledge about spatial and temporal variability of hydrological processes is central for sustainable water-resources management, and such knowledge is created from observational data. Hydrologic models are necessary for prediction for time periods and areas lacking data, but are affected by observational uncertainties. Methods for estimating and accounting for such uncertainties in water-resources modelling are of high importance, especially in regions such as Central America. Observational uncertainties were addressed in three ways in this thesis; quality control, quantitative estimation and development of model-evaluation techniques that addressed unquantifiable uncertainties. A first step in any modelling study should be the quality control and concurrent analysis of the representativeness of the observational data. In the characterisation of the precipitation regime in the Choluteca River basin in Honduras, four different quality problems were identified and 22% of the daily data had to be rejected. The monitoring network was found to be insufficient for a comprehensive characterisation of the high spatiotemporal variability of the precipitation regime. Quantitative estimations of data uncertainties can be made when sufficient information is available. Discharge-data uncertainties were estimated with a fuzzy regression for time-variable rating curves and from official rating curves for 35 stations in Honduras. The uncertainties were largest for low flows, as a result of measurement uncertainties and natural variability. A method for calibration with flow-duration curves was developed which enabled calibration to the whole flow range, accounting for discharge uncertainty and calibration with non-overlapping time periods for model input and evaluation data. The method compared favourably to traditional calibration in a test using two models applied in basins with different runoff-generation processes. A post-hoc analysis made it possible to identify potential model-structure errors and periods of disinformative data. Flow-duration curves were regionalised and used for calibration of a Central-American water-balance model. The initial model uncertainty for the ungauged basins was reduced by 70%. Non-representative precipitation data were found to be the main obstacle to comprehensive regional water-resources modelling in Central America. These methods bridged several problems related to observational uncertainties in water-balance modelling. Estimates of prediction uncertainty are an important basis for all types of decisions related to water-resources management.
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| 6. |
- Bockgård, Niclas, 1974-
(författare)
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Groundwater Recharge in Crystalline Bedrock : Processes, Estimation, and Modelling
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Kunskap om grundvattenbildningen är nödvändig för att man ska kunna förutsäga konsekvenserna av grundvattenuttag och underjordsbyggande. Grundvattenbildningen i berggrunden är dock svår att uppskatta. Syftet med avhandlingen var att öka förståelsen av grundvattenbildningen i kristallin berggrund, att undersöka hur grundvattenbildningen ska uppskattas samt att utveckla nya modeller för att beskriva grundvattenbildningen. Studien grundades på tre angreppssätt: grundvattendatering med freoner (CFC), geohydrauliska observationer och matematisk modellering.Koncentrationerna av CFC-11 och CFC-113 befanns vara låga i det undersökta berggrundvattnet, vilket i kombination med låga syrgashalter tyder på anaerob nedbrytning. Koncentrationerna av CFC-12 och tritium överensstämde ganska väl, vilket betyder att den skenbara åldern kan vara den sanna åldern. Resultaten tyder på att CFC-datering inte är pålitlig i skogsmiljöer med finkornigt jordtäcke.Vid nederbörd observerades ett snabbt gensvar i den hydrauliska potentialen i den studerade bergakviferen, trots det 10 m mäktiga moräntäcket. En avsevärd del av de observerade potentialvariationerna befanns vara belastningseffekter, som inte innebar någon magasinsförändring eller något vattenflöde. Berggrundens belastningseffektivitet uppskattades, ur potentialens svar på lufttrycksförändringar, till 0,95. Ytbelastningen beräknades från mätningar av lufttryck, vatten i jordtäcket och snö. Omkring 20 % av årstidsvariationen hos den hydrauliska potentialen uppskattades bero på enbart belastningsförändringar. En enkel begreppsmässig modell kunde användas för att simulera den observerade hydrauliska potentialen. För att beskriva enskilda grundvattenbildningstillfällen på bästa sätt var det nödvändigt att ta hänsyn till effekten av ytbelastningen.Numeriska experiment gjordes med en modell av en jord–bergprofil. När berget modellerades som ett heterogent kontinuum bildades omättade zoner i berget vid stora hydrauliska gradienter. Fenomenet uppträdde i områden där låggenomsläppliga zoner låg uppströms höggenomsläppliga zoner, och ledde till minskad hydraulisk konduktivitet i berget.
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| 7. |
- Fuentes-Andino, Diana, 1984-
(författare)
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Flood Hazard Assessment in Data-Scarce Basins : Use of alternative data and modelling techniques
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Flooding is of great concern world-wide, causing damage to infrastructure, property and loss of life. Low-income countries, in particular, can be negatively affected by flood events due to their inherent vulnerabilities. Moreover, data to perform studies for flood risk management in low-income regions are often scarce or lacking sufficient quality.This thesis proposes new methodologies and explores the use of unconventional sources of information in flood hazard assessment in areas where the quantity or sufficient quality of traditional hydrometrical data are lacking. One method was developed to account for errors in spatially averaged rainfall, from a sparse rain-gauge network, used as input to a rainfall-runoff model. A spatially-averaged and event-dependent rainfall depth multiplier led to improvements of the hydrographs at calibration. And by using a distribution of the multiplier, identified from previous events in the catchment, improvement in predictions could also be obtained.A second method explored the possibility of reproducing an unmeasured extreme flood event using a combination of models, post-event data, precipitation and an uncertainty-analysis framework. This combination allowed the identification of likelihood-associated parameter sets from which the flood hazard map for the extreme event could be obtained.A third and fourth study made at the regional scale explored the value of catchment similarities, and the effects of climate on the hydrological response of catchments.Flood frequency curves were estimated for 36 basins, assumed ungauged, using regional information of short flow records, and local information about the frequency of the storm. In the second regional study, hydro-climatic information provided great value to constrain predictions of series of daily flow from a hydrological model.Previously described methods, used in combination with unconventional information within an uncertainty analysis, proven to be useful for flood hazard assessment at basins with data limitations. The explored data included: post-event measurements of an extreme flood event, hydro-climate regional information and local precipitation data. The methods presented in this thesis are expected to support development of hydrological studies underpinning flood-risk reduction in data-poor areas.
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| 8. |
- Kauffeldt, Anna, 1981-
(författare)
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Disinformative and Uncertain Data in Global Hydrology : Challenges for Modelling and Regionalisation
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Water is essential for human well-being and healthy ecosystems, but population growth and changes in climate and land-use are putting increased stress on water resources in many regions. To ensure water security, knowledge about the spatiotemporal distribution of these resources is of great importance. However, estimates of global water resources are constrained by limitations in availability and quality of data. This thesis explores the quality of both observational and modelled data, gives an overview of models used for large-scale hydrological modelling, and explores the possibilities to deal with the scarcity of data by prediction of flow-duration curves.The evaluation of the quality of observational data for large-scale hydrological modelling was based on both hydrographic data, and model forcing and evaluation data for basins worldwide. The results showed that a GIS polygon dataset outperformed all gridded hydrographic products analysed in terms of representation of basin areas. Through a screening methodology based on the long-term water-balance equation it was shown that as many as 8–43% of the basins analysed displayed inconsistencies between forcing (precipitation and potential evaporation) and evaluation (discharge) data depending on how datasets were combined. These data could prove disinformative in hydrological model inference and analysis.The quality of key hydrological variables from a numerical weather prediction model was assessed by benchmarking against observational datasets and by analysis of the internal land-surface water budgets of several different model setups. Long-term imbalances were found between precipitation and evaporation on the global scale and between precipitation, evaporation and runoff on both cell and basin scales. These imbalances were mainly attributed to the data assimilation system in which soil moisture is used as a nudge factor to improve weather forecasts.Regionalisation, i.e. transfer of information from data-rich areas to data-sparse areas, is a necessity in hydrology because of a lack of observed data in many areas. In this thesis, the possibility to predict flow-duration curves in ungauged basins was explored by testing several different methodologies including machine learning. The results were mixed, with some well predicted curves, but many predicted curves exhibited large biases and several methods resulted in unrealistic curves.
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| 9. |
- Persson, Tony, 1966-
(författare)
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Evaporation and Heat-flux Aggregation in Heterogeneous Boreal Landscapes
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The boreal forests represent 8 % of all forested areas on the earth and have a significant role in the control of greenhouse gases and an impact on global climate change. The main objective of this thesis is to increase the understanding of how evaporation and heat-flux processes in the boreal forest zone are affecting the regional and global climate.A meteorological mesoscale model with an advanced land-surface parameterization has been utilized to study aggregation of fluxes of water vapour and heat. The model has been compared against four other methods for flux estimation in a southern boreal landscape. The results show that the mesoscale model is successfully reproducing 24-hour averages of fractionally weighted mast measurements of sensible and latent heat flux.The model was also evaluated against in-situ observations of surface fluxes and other meteorological variables. The results reveal that a correct initialization of soil moisture is crucial to simulate a realistic partitioning of the sensible and latent heat fluxes. Significant differences in surface fluxes and friction velocities between two apparently similar forest sites indicate the need for careful assessment of areal representativity when comparing mesoscale model results with in-situ observations.A parameterization for the absorption of solar radiation of high-latitude sparse forests was implemented and tested in the model that significantly improved the simulation of high wintertime midday sensible heat fluxes. A scheme for heat storage in vegetation was also implemented which improved the results, but the scheme needs further evaluation for high latitude forests.Two commonly used strategies for the description of land-surface heterogeneity, the effective parameter approach and the mosaic approach, were tested in the mesoscale model against airborne observations of sensible and latent heat fluxes. The results show that the mosaic approach produces better results especially when small lakes are present in model grid-squares.
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| 10. |
- Quesada-Montano, Beatriz, 1984-
(författare)
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Hydro-Climatic Variability and Change in Central America : Supporting Risk Reduction Through Improved Analyses and Data
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Floods and droughts are frequent in Central America and cause large social, economic and environmental impacts. A crucial step in disaster risk reduction is to have a good understanding of the causing mechanisms of extreme events and their spatio-temporal characteristics. For this, a key aspect is access to a dense network of long and good-quality hydro-meteorological data. Unfortunately, such ideal data are sparse or non-existent in Central America. In addition, the existing methods for hydro-climatic studies need to be revised and/or improved to find the most suitable for the region’s climate, geography and hydro-climatic data situation. This work has the ultimate goal to support the reduction of risks associated with hydro-climatic-induced disasters in Central America. This was sought by developing ways to reduce data-related uncertainties and by improving the available methods to study and understand hydro-climatic variability processes. In terms of data-uncertainty reduction, this thesis includes the development of a high resolution air temperature dataset and a methodology to reduce uncertainties in a hydrological model at ungauged basins. The dataset was able to capture the spatial patterns with a detail not available with existing datasets. The methodology significantly reduced uncertainties in an assumed-to-be ungauged catchment. In terms of methodological improvements, this thesis includes an assessment of the most suitable combination of (available) meteorological datasets and drought indices to characterise droughts in Central America. In addition, a methodology was developed to analyse drought propagation in a tropical catchment, in an automated, objective way. Results from the assessment and the drought propagation analysis contributed with improving the understanding of drought patterns and generating processes in the region. Finally, a methodology was proposed for assessing changes in both hydrological extremes in a consistent way. This contrasts with most commonly used frameworks that study each extreme individually. The method provides important characteristics (frequency, duration and magnitude), information that can be useful for decisions within risk reduction and water management. The results presented in this thesis are a contribution, in terms of hydro-climatic data and assessment methods, for supporting risk reduction of disasters related with hydro-climatic extremes in Central America.
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| 11. |
- Wetterhall, Fredrik, 1971-
(författare)
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Statistical Downscaling of Precipitation from Large-scale Atmospheric Circulation : Comparison of Methods and Climate Regions
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A global climate change may have large impacts on water resources on regional and global scales. General circulation models (GCMs) are the most used tools to evaluate climate-change scenarios on a global scale. They are, however, insufficiently describing the effects at the local scale. This thesis evaluates different approaches of statistical downscaling of precipitation from large-scale circulation variables, both concerning the method performance and the optimum choice of predictor variables. The analogue downscaling method (AM) was found to work well as “benchmark” method in comparison to more complicated methods. AM was implemented using principal component analysis (PCA) and Teweles-Wobus Scores (TWS). Statistical properties of daily and monthly precipitation on a catchment in south-central Sweden, as well as daily precipitation in three catchments in China were acceptably downscaled.A regression method conditioning a weather generator (SDSM) as well as a fuzzy-rule based circulation-pattern classification method conditioning a stochastical precipitation model (MOFRBC) gave good results when applied on Swedish and Chinese catchments. Statistical downscaling with MOFRBC from GMC (HADAM3P) output improved the statistical properties as well as the intra-annual variation of precipitation.The studies show that temporal and areal settings of the predictor are important factors concerning the success of precipitation modelling. The MOFRCB and SDSM are generally performing better than the AM, and the best choice of method is depending on the purpose of the study. MOFRBC applied on output from a GCM future scenario indicates that the large-scale circulation will not be significantly affected. Adding humidity flux as predictor indicated an increased intensity both in extreme events and daily amounts in central and northern Sweden.
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