Karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input data

<p>Despite many existing approaches, modeling karst water resources remains challenging as conventional approaches usually heavily rely on distinct system knowledge. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), however, require only little prior knowledge to automatically establish an input–output relat...

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Main Authors: A. Wunsch, T. Liesch, G. Cinkus, N. Ravbar, Z. Chen, N. Mazzilli, H. Jourde, N. Goldscheider
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2022-05-01
Series:Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
Online Access:https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/26/2405/2022/hess-26-2405-2022.pdf
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author A. Wunsch
T. Liesch
G. Cinkus
N. Ravbar
Z. Chen
N. Mazzilli
H. Jourde
N. Goldscheider
author_facet A. Wunsch
T. Liesch
G. Cinkus
N. Ravbar
Z. Chen
N. Mazzilli
H. Jourde
N. Goldscheider
author_sort A. Wunsch
collection DOAJ
description <p>Despite many existing approaches, modeling karst water resources remains challenging as conventional approaches usually heavily rely on distinct system knowledge. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), however, require only little prior knowledge to automatically establish an input–output relationship. For ANN modeling in karst, the temporal and spatial data availability is often an important constraint, as usually no or few climate stations are located within or near karst spring catchments. Hence, spatial coverage is often not satisfactory and can result in substantial uncertainties about the true conditions in the catchment, leading to lower model performance. To overcome these problems, we apply convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to simulate karst spring discharge and to directly learn from spatially distributed climate input data (combined 2D–1D CNNs). We investigate three karst spring catchments in the Alpine and Mediterranean region with different meteorological–hydrological characteristics and hydrodynamic system properties. We compare the proposed approach both to existing modeling studies in these regions and to our own 1D CNN models that are conventionally trained with climate station input data. Our results show that all the models are excellently suited to modeling karst spring discharge (NSE: 0.73–0.87, KGE: 0.63–0.86) and can compete with the simulation results of existing approaches in the respective areas. The 2D models show a better fit than the 1D models in two of three cases and automatically learn to focus on the relevant areas of the input domain. By performing a spatial input sensitivity analysis, we can further show their usefulness in localizing the position of karst catchments.</p>
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spelling doaj.art-0d9bb8144f5b4b74bc44685b5d8b5e272022-12-22T02:53:58ZengCopernicus PublicationsHydrology and Earth System Sciences1027-56061607-79382022-05-01262405243010.5194/hess-26-2405-2022Karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input dataA. Wunsch0T. Liesch1G. Cinkus2N. Ravbar3Z. Chen4N. Mazzilli5H. Jourde6N. Goldscheider7Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Applied Geosciences, Hydrogeology, Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, GermanyKarlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Applied Geosciences, Hydrogeology, Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, GermanyHydroSciences Montpellier (HSM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34090 Montpellier, FranceZRC SAZU, Karst Research Institute, Titov trg 2, 6230 Postojna, SloveniaInstitute of Groundwater Management, Technical University of Dresden, 01062 DresdenUMR 1114 EMMAH (AU-INRAE), Université d'Avignon, 84000 Avignon, FranceHydroSciences Montpellier (HSM), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34090 Montpellier, FranceKarlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Applied Geosciences, Hydrogeology, Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany<p>Despite many existing approaches, modeling karst water resources remains challenging as conventional approaches usually heavily rely on distinct system knowledge. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), however, require only little prior knowledge to automatically establish an input–output relationship. For ANN modeling in karst, the temporal and spatial data availability is often an important constraint, as usually no or few climate stations are located within or near karst spring catchments. Hence, spatial coverage is often not satisfactory and can result in substantial uncertainties about the true conditions in the catchment, leading to lower model performance. To overcome these problems, we apply convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to simulate karst spring discharge and to directly learn from spatially distributed climate input data (combined 2D–1D CNNs). We investigate three karst spring catchments in the Alpine and Mediterranean region with different meteorological–hydrological characteristics and hydrodynamic system properties. We compare the proposed approach both to existing modeling studies in these regions and to our own 1D CNN models that are conventionally trained with climate station input data. Our results show that all the models are excellently suited to modeling karst spring discharge (NSE: 0.73–0.87, KGE: 0.63–0.86) and can compete with the simulation results of existing approaches in the respective areas. The 2D models show a better fit than the 1D models in two of three cases and automatically learn to focus on the relevant areas of the input domain. By performing a spatial input sensitivity analysis, we can further show their usefulness in localizing the position of karst catchments.</p>https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/26/2405/2022/hess-26-2405-2022.pdf
spellingShingle A. Wunsch
T. Liesch
G. Cinkus
N. Ravbar
Z. Chen
N. Mazzilli
H. Jourde
N. Goldscheider
Karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input data
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
title Karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input data
title_full Karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input data
title_fullStr Karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input data
title_full_unstemmed Karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input data
title_short Karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input data
title_sort karst spring discharge modeling based on deep learning using spatially distributed input data
url https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/26/2405/2022/hess-26-2405-2022.pdf
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