An assessment of the present hydroclimatic regime of the Madeira River basin using climate and hydrological models

Southwestern Amazonia has low spatial coverage of hydro-meteorological data, making climate and hydrological models essential tools. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate these models to verify their suitability for future climate change assessments. We evaluate the ability of a regional climate model (Eta) forced with three Earth system models and a large-scale hydrological model (MGB) to represent hydroclimatic variables for the current climate in the Madeira River basin. Different hydro-meteorological databases are used to evaluate the systematic errors of the coupled model system. The simulation results show that the Eta model underestimates (overestimates) precipitation over the basin during the rainy (dry) season. The hydrological processes simulated by the MGB are considered satisfactory, although the model has some limitations with respect to the timing of floods and their removal in different discharge regimes.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the performance of a regional climate model (Eta) and a large-scale hydrological model (MGB) in representing hydroclimatic variables in the Madeira River basin. The results show that the Eta model underestimates (overestimates) precipitation during the rainy (dry) season. The MGB model simulates hydrological processes satisfactorily, though it has limitations in timing floods and their removal in different discharge regimes.