---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '22433'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Process-based hydrological models have a long history dating back to the
1960s. Criticized by some as over-parameterized, overly complex, and difficult
to use, a more nuanced view is that these tools are necessary in many situations
and, in a certain class of problems, they are the most appropriate type of hydrological
model. This is especially the case in situations where knowledge of flow paths
or distributed state variables and/or preservation of physical constraints is
important. Examples of this include: spatiotemporal variability of soil moisture,
groundwater flow and runoff generation, sediment and contaminant transport, or
when feedbacks among various Earth’s system processes or understanding the impacts
of climate non-stationarity are of primary concern. These are situations where
process-based models excel and other models are unverifiable. This article presents
this pragmatic view in the context of existing literature to justify the approach
where applicable and necessary. We review how improvements in data availability,
computational resources and algorithms have made detailed hydrological simulations
a reality. Avenues for the future of process-based hydrological models are presented
suggesting their use as virtual laboratories, for design purposes, and with a
powerful treatment of uncertainty.'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Simone
full_name: Fatichi, Simone
id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
last_name: Fatichi
- first_name: Enrique R.
full_name: Vivoni, Enrique R.
last_name: Vivoni
- first_name: Fred L.
full_name: Ogden, Fred L.
last_name: Ogden
- first_name: Valeriy Y.
full_name: Ivanov, Valeriy Y.
last_name: Ivanov
- first_name: Benjamin
full_name: Mirus, Benjamin
last_name: Mirus
- first_name: David
full_name: Gochis, David
last_name: Gochis
- first_name: Charles W.
full_name: Downer, Charles W.
last_name: Downer
- first_name: Matteo
full_name: Camporese, Matteo
last_name: Camporese
- first_name: Jason H.
full_name: Davison, Jason H.
last_name: Davison
- first_name: Brian
full_name: Ebel, Brian
last_name: Ebel
- first_name: Norm
full_name: Jones, Norm
last_name: Jones
- first_name: Jongho
full_name: Kim, Jongho
last_name: Kim
- first_name: Giuseppe
full_name: Mascaro, Giuseppe
last_name: Mascaro
- first_name: Richard
full_name: Niswonger, Richard
last_name: Niswonger
- first_name: Pedro
full_name: Restrepo, Pedro
last_name: Restrepo
- first_name: Riccardo
full_name: Rigon, Riccardo
last_name: Rigon
- first_name: Chaopeng
full_name: Shen, Chaopeng
last_name: Shen
- first_name: Mauro
full_name: Sulis, Mauro
last_name: Sulis
- first_name: David
full_name: Tarboton, David
last_name: Tarboton
citation:
ama: Fatichi S, Vivoni ER, Ogden FL, et al. An overview of current applications,
challenges, and future trends in distributed process-based models in hydrology.
Journal of Hydrology. 2016;537:45-60. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.03.026
apa: Fatichi, S., Vivoni, E. R., Ogden, F. L., Ivanov, V. Y., Mirus, B., Gochis,
D., … Tarboton, D. (2016). An overview of current applications, challenges, and
future trends in distributed process-based models in hydrology. Journal of
Hydrology. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.03.026
chicago: Fatichi, Simone, Enrique R. Vivoni, Fred L. Ogden, Valeriy Y. Ivanov, Benjamin
Mirus, David Gochis, Charles W. Downer, et al. “An Overview of Current Applications,
Challenges, and Future Trends in Distributed Process-Based Models in Hydrology.”
Journal of Hydrology. Elsevier, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.03.026.
ieee: S. Fatichi et al., “An overview of current applications, challenges,
and future trends in distributed process-based models in hydrology,” Journal
of Hydrology, vol. 537. Elsevier, pp. 45–60, 2016.
ista: Fatichi S, Vivoni ER, Ogden FL, Ivanov VY, Mirus B, Gochis D, Downer CW, Camporese
M, Davison JH, Ebel B, Jones N, Kim J, Mascaro G, Niswonger R, Restrepo P, Rigon
R, Shen C, Sulis M, Tarboton D. 2016. An overview of current applications, challenges,
and future trends in distributed process-based models in hydrology. Journal of
Hydrology. 537, 45–60.
mla: Fatichi, Simone, et al. “An Overview of Current Applications, Challenges, and
Future Trends in Distributed Process-Based Models in Hydrology.” Journal of
Hydrology, vol. 537, Elsevier, 2016, pp. 45–60, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.03.026.
short: S. Fatichi, E.R. Vivoni, F.L. Ogden, V.Y. Ivanov, B. Mirus, D. Gochis, C.W.
Downer, M. Camporese, J.H. Davison, B. Ebel, N. Jones, J. Kim, G. Mascaro, R.
Niswonger, P. Restrepo, R. Rigon, C. Shen, M. Sulis, D. Tarboton, Journal of Hydrology
537 (2016) 45–60.
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:23Z
date_published: 2016-06-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-11T06:17:23Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.03.026
extern: '1'
intvolume: ' 537'
keyword:
- Modeling
- Interdisciplinary
- Watershed processes
- Virtual experiments
- Change assessments
- Natural and built environment
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3459&context=cee_facpub
month: '06'
oa: 1
oa_version: Accepted Version
page: 45-60
publication: Journal of Hydrology
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1879-2707
issn:
- 0022-1694
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: An overview of current applications, challenges, and future trends in distributed
process-based models in hydrology
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by_nc_nd.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
short: CC BY-NC-ND (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 537
year: '2016'
...