Modelling the runoff response in the Mulde catchment (Germany)

Abstract. The paper presents two different levels of regionalization used to represent the spatial distribution of landscape parameters for the hydrological modelling of the Mulde.

The aim of this investigation was to find out how the discretisation level affects quality of modelling with the hydrological modelling system J2000. Furthermore we improved our understanding of the applicability and reliability of the distributed model J2000 on the macro-scale.

Spatial information was aggregated in two different discretisation levels: subbasins (SB) and hydrological response polygons (HRP). A J2000 simulation was carried out for both discretisation levels based on a 1 year calibration and a 3 year validation period.

Simulations performed well for both levels of spatial discretisation. The results seemed to be better in the more complex discretisation approach, where the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient was higher. We can conclude that our first results show more accurate simulations produced by the HRP discretisation approach, the visual inspection shows a better application of the SB approach to the reproduction of the base flow.