Comparison of Runoff Components, Water Balance, and the Parameters of Conceptual Models HBV and GR4J: Case Study of the Upper Ussuri Basin (South of Primorsky Region, Pacific Russia)

The efficiency of runoff simulation, the values of parameters, and the dynamics of the estimated runoff components were analyzed for two conceptual hydrological models GR4J and HBV for 17 watersheds in the Upper Ussuri River (Primorsky Krai, Russia) with areas from 138 to 24 400 km2. Both models demonstrate an increase in the simulation efficiency (based on NSE criterion) with an increase in the catchment area up to 1–2 thousand km2, after which they stabilize within the interval of 0.75–0.85 for the calibration period and 0.70–0.80 for the verification period. The estimates obtained for the HBV model were 5–10% higher than those for the GR4J model. Analysis of the measured and calculated annual runoff maximums over the warm season suggests the conclusion that GR4J model is on the average 5–6% more efficient than the HBV model in calculating the maximal values of rain flood discharges. At the same time, the obtained values of the relative error BIAS demonstrate a more accurate reproduction of the annual average runoff by the HBV model. The main distinctions determining the efficiency of simulation in the study region are as follows: the method of considering the precipitation height increments within altitude belts, the specific features of the calculation of model evapotranspiration, the method for calculating the outflow from conceptual runoff-forming storages in the GR4J and HBV models.