ACCURACY OF X-BAND LOCAL AREA WEATHER RADAR (LAWR) OF LEUVEN AND ITS FIRST HYDROLOGICAL APPLICATION FOR RIVER CATCHMENT MODELLING

摘要

This paper discusses the hydro-meteorological potential of the X-band Local Area Weather Radar installed in the densely populated city centre of Leuven, Belgium. Different merging techniques are applied to raw radar data using gauge readings from a network of 12 rain gauges. The hydrological response is investigated in the 48.17 km~2 Molenbeek/Parkbeek catchment in Belgium. For this, two lumped conceptual models, VHM and the NAM are used. Range dependent adjustment followed by Mean Field Bias Adjustment and Brandes Spatial Adjustment improved the radar estimates to a great extent. After adjustments, the mean absolute error is found to decrease by 47% and the root mean square error by 45% compared to the original radar estimates. No large differences in streamflow simulation capability of the two models can be distinguished. More uniform winter storms are simulated with greater accuracy than summer storms.