Suitability of ERA5-Land reanalysis dataset for hydrological modelling in the Alpine region

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.101718
• Publication Date: 2024-02-26T19:28:13Z
• Authors: Daniele Dalla Torre; Nicola Di Marco; Andrea Menapace; Diego Avesani; Maurizio Righetti; Bruno Majone
• Keywords: Forcing (mathematics); Land Cover; Snowmelt

Study region: The region of interest is the South-Tyrol in southeastern Alps, Italy. A comparison meteorological forcing performed with reference to this while hydrological simulations are conducted Passirio river basin. focus: objective work evaluate suitability ERA5-Land reanalysis product as a dataset for modelling topographically complex Alpine regions. compared observational gridded dataset, obtained by means Kriging interpolation, available at two contrasting spatial resolutions coarse grid size 11 × 8 kilometres and high-resolution 1 kilometres. coherence three datasets (ERA5-Land datasets) observed streamflow time series then assessed refer Passirio/Passer basin its nested snow-dominated sub-catchment Plan/Pfelders. New insights study assesses ERA5-Land's comparing outcomes. At annual scale, an overestimation precipitation about 40mm/month temperature underestimation 2.1 °C reported. These discrepancies influence simulations, resulting both snow water equivalent. It thus crucial consider limitations when using it application watersheds characterized terrains, such region.