TY - JOUR

T1 - An interactive graphical interface tool for parameter calibration, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis, and visualization for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool

AU - Nguyen, Tam V.

AU - Dietrich, Jörg

AU - Dang, Thanh Duc

AU - Tran, Dang An

AU - Van Doan, Binh

AU - Sarrazin, Fanny J.

AU - Abbaspour, Karim

AU - Srinivasan, Raghavan

N1 - Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the R-SWAT users (https://groups.google.com/g/R-SWAT) and Sushant Mehan for feedback on the functionalities and visual interface of R-SWAT during its initial release. We thank the developers of SWAT and R packages that were used in this study. Special thanks are given to the editor, the two anonymous reviewers and Christoph Schürz, whose comments have helped to considerably improve the quality of the manuscript and the software. We thank the members of the Modeling and Assessment of Sustainable Systems (MASS) group at the University of South Florida, Tampa for proofreading the article.

PY - 2022/10

Y1 - 2022/10

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Graphical user interface

KW - Model calibration

KW - Parameter sensitivity

KW - R

KW - SWAT model

KW - Uncertainty analysis

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85136095850&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105497

DO - 10.1016/j.envsoft.2022.105497

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85136095850

VL - 156

JO - Environmental Modelling and Software

JF - Environmental Modelling and Software

SN - 1364-8152

M1 - 105497

ER -