A framework for coupling atmospheric and hydrological models

There is a strong global research effort in coupling atmospheric and hydrological models for improved hydrological flow modelling and improved atmospheric simulation. The land surface is an important hydrological control as it is the primary influence in the surface water budget and it is almost always a requirement in the implementation of either hydrological or atmospheric models. Sophisticated soil-vegetation atmospheric transfer (SVAT) schemes are currently being implemented in global climate models (GCMs), regional climate models (RCMs) and day-to-day operational forecasting numerical weather prediction models (NWPs). Rarely have these been incorporated into hydrological models. This paper focuses on describing the coupling of an atmospheric model (both NWP and RCM) with a hydrological model. A conceptual framework for model development was initiated using different levels of coupling in order to work towards a complete two-way coupled model.