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An interactive graphical interface tool for parameter calibration, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis, and visualization for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool

  • Tam V. Nguyen*
  • , Jörg Dietrich
  • , Thanh Duc Dang
  • , Dang An Tran
  • , Binh Van Doan
  • , Fanny J. Sarrazin
  • , Karim Abbaspour
  • , Raghavan Srinivasan
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Abstract

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is one of the most widely used and well-tested eco-hydrological models. However, parameter calibration, sensitivity analysis and uncertainty analysis remain among the most challenging tasks. Existing SWAT parameter calibration, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty analysis tools are either commercial products or free tools with limited options. This study demonstrates an interactive graphical user interface tool in the R environment for SWAT parameter calibration, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, and visualization, called R-SWAT. Different R functions/packages for parameter calibration, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty analysis have been incorporated into R-SWAT. Third-party packages can be integrated into R-SWAT with minimum effort. The application of R-SWAT for a test case study demonstrates its functionalities. In general, R-SWAT (1) is a potential platform for developing and testing new sensitivity or optimization packages, and (2) promotes the understanding of hydrological processes with open-source SWAT and R.

Original languageEnglish
Article number105497
JournalEnvironmental Modelling and Software
Volume156
E-pub ahead of print16 Aug 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022

Keywords

  • Graphical user interface
  • Model calibration
  • Parameter sensitivity
  • R
  • SWAT model
  • Uncertainty analysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Ecological Modelling

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