Hydrology and Earth System Sciences www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net 1027-5606 1607-7938 13 11 2009 10.5194/hess-13-2069-2009 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/2069/2009/ http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/2069/2009/hess-13-2069-2009.html http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/13/2069/2009/hess-13-2069-2009.pdf 2069 2094 2009-11-04 Comparative predictions of discharge from an artificial catchment (Chicken Creek) using sparse data H. M. Holländer hartmut.hollaender@tu-cottbus.de T. Blume H. Bormann W. Buytaert G.B. Chirico J.-F. Exbrayat D. Gustafsson H. Hölzel P. Kraft C. Stamm S. Stoll G. Blöschl H. Flühler Chair of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus, 03046 Cottbus, Germany Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, C4 2.25, 14473 Potsdam, Germany Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK Dipartimento di ingegneria agraria e agronomia del territorio, Università di Napoli Federico II, 80055 Naples, Italy Institute for Landscape Ecology and Resources Management, University of Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology KTH, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden Department of Geography, University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany Department Environmental Chemistry, Eawag, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich 8093 Zürich, Switzerland Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, TU Vienna, 1040 Vienna, Austria Department of Environmental Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland now at: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK Ten conceptually different models in predicting discharge from the artificial Chicken Creek catchment in North-East Germany were used for this study. Soil texture and topography data were given to the modellers, but discharge data was withheld. We compare the predictions with the measurements from the 6 ha catchment and discuss the conceptualization and parameterization of the models. The predictions vary in a wide range, e.g. with the predicted actual evapotranspiration ranging from 88 to 579 mm/y and the discharge from 19 to 346 mm/y. The predicted components of the hydrological cycle deviated systematically from the observations, which were not known to the modellers. Discharge was mainly predicted as subsurface discharge with little direct runoff. In reality, surface runoff was a major flow component despite the fairly coarse soil texture. The actual evapotranspiration (AET) and the ratio between actual and potential ET was systematically overestimated by nine of the ten models. None of the model simulations came even close to the observed water balance for the entire 3-year study period. 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