Evaluating the Performance of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in a Snow-Dominated Climate (Case Study: Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran)
This study aims to investigate the capability of the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model in hydrologic simulation of a cold and mountainous climate, the Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran. For this purpose, daily climatic data from the Aligoudarz synoptic station, discharge data from the Marbare hy...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/4/382 |
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| author | Yaser Sabzevari Saeid Eslamian Saeid Okhravi Mohammad Hadi Bazrkar |
| author_facet | Yaser Sabzevari Saeid Eslamian Saeid Okhravi Mohammad Hadi Bazrkar |
| author_sort | Yaser Sabzevari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aims to investigate the capability of the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model in hydrologic simulation of a cold and mountainous climate, the Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran. For this purpose, daily climatic data from the Aligoudarz synoptic station, discharge data from the Marbare hydrometric station, soil and land use maps, and a 10 m digital elevation model of the study area were used. The results demonstrated that the model exhibited poor performance due to poor simulation of runoff generated from snowmelt. To enhance the model’s performance, the calibration period was split into warm and cold seasons using a temperature threshold of 3.6 °C. As a result, the model’s performance improved, with the Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) increasing from 0.28 to 0.60 and R<sup>2</sup> rising from 0.32 to 0.61. The research indicated that refining the conceptual and theoretical framework of the SWAT model is essential to reduce uncertainty and achieve reliable accuracy, particularly in snow-dominated and mountainous areas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dcf3e2eb9f03420f8a476f5f6ea02cd7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-dcf3e2eb9f03420f8a476f5f6ea02cd72025-08-20T02:17:19ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332025-03-0116438210.3390/atmos16040382Evaluating the Performance of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in a Snow-Dominated Climate (Case Study: Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran)Yaser Sabzevari0Saeid Eslamian1Saeid Okhravi2Mohammad Hadi Bazrkar3Department of Water Science and Engineering, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 8415683111, IranDepartment of Water Science and Engineering, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 8415683111, IranInstitute of Hydrology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84104 Bratislava, SlovakiaTexas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University, Temple, TX 76502, USAThis study aims to investigate the capability of the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model in hydrologic simulation of a cold and mountainous climate, the Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran. For this purpose, daily climatic data from the Aligoudarz synoptic station, discharge data from the Marbare hydrometric station, soil and land use maps, and a 10 m digital elevation model of the study area were used. The results demonstrated that the model exhibited poor performance due to poor simulation of runoff generated from snowmelt. To enhance the model’s performance, the calibration period was split into warm and cold seasons using a temperature threshold of 3.6 °C. As a result, the model’s performance improved, with the Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) increasing from 0.28 to 0.60 and R<sup>2</sup> rising from 0.32 to 0.61. The research indicated that refining the conceptual and theoretical framework of the SWAT model is essential to reduce uncertainty and achieve reliable accuracy, particularly in snow-dominated and mountainous areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/4/382snowsnowmeltrunoffSWATAzna–Aligoudarz basin |
| spellingShingle | Yaser Sabzevari Saeid Eslamian Saeid Okhravi Mohammad Hadi Bazrkar Evaluating the Performance of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in a Snow-Dominated Climate (Case Study: Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran) Atmosphere snow snowmelt runoff SWAT Azna–Aligoudarz basin |
| title | Evaluating the Performance of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in a Snow-Dominated Climate (Case Study: Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran) |
| title_full | Evaluating the Performance of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in a Snow-Dominated Climate (Case Study: Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran) |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the Performance of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in a Snow-Dominated Climate (Case Study: Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the Performance of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in a Snow-Dominated Climate (Case Study: Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran) |
| title_short | Evaluating the Performance of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in a Snow-Dominated Climate (Case Study: Azna–Aligoudarz Basin, Iran) |
| title_sort | evaluating the performance of soil and water assessment tool swat in a snow dominated climate case study azna aligoudarz basin iran |
| topic | snow snowmelt runoff SWAT Azna–Aligoudarz basin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/4/382 |
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