An evaluation of the accuracy of modeled and computed streamflow time-series data for the Ohio River at Hannibal Lock and Dam and at a location upstream from Sardis, Ohio

Abstract

Between July 2013 and June 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) made 10 streamflow measurements on the Ohio River about 1.5 miles (mi) downstream from the Hannibal Lock and Dam (near Hannibal, Ohio) and 11 streamflow measurements near the USGS Sardis gage (station number 03114306) located approximately 2.4 mi upstream from Sardis, Ohio. The measurement results were used to assess the accuracy of modeled or computed instantaneous streamflow time series created and supplied by the USGS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and National Weather Service (NWS) for the Ohio River at Hannibal Lock and Dam and (or) at the USGS streamgage. Hydraulic or hydrologic models were used to create the modeled time series; index-velocity methods or gate-opening ratings coupled with hydropower operation data were used to create the computed time series. The time step of the various instantaneous streamflow time series ranged from 15 minutes to 24 hours (once-daily values at 12:00 Coordinated Universal Time [UTC]). The 15-minute time-series data, computed by the USGS for the Sardis gage, also were downsampled to 1-hour and 24-hour time steps to permit more direct comparisons with other streamflow time series. To facilitate comparisons between measurement results and time-series data, streamflows corresponding to the times of the streamflow measurements were computed from the time-series data by time-based linear interpolation. Prior to doing interpolations, measurement times for the Hannibal Lock and Dam location were adjusted for traveltime to account for the fact that the streamflow measurements were made about 1.5 mi downstream from the location corresponding to the modeled/computed time-series data. Measured and interpolated streamflows were tabulated along with residuals (the difference between measured and interpolated streamflows) and selected summary statistics. Overall, streamflows interpolated from the USGS computed 15-minute time-series data (hereafter referred to as the USGS 15-minute time-series data) had the smallest root-mean-square error (RMSE) (3,939 cubic feet per second [ft 3 /s]) and the second smallest mean absolute residual (2,636 ft 3 /s), whereas streamflows interpolated from the USACE 12 UTC time series had the largest RMSE (14,590 ft 3 /s) and the largest mean absolute residual (10,800 ft 3 /s). The larger RMSEs for streamflows interpolated from the USACE 12 UTC time series likely resulted in part from the coarser time step of that time series. Streamflows interpolated from the USGS downsampled 1-hour time series had the second smallest RMSE (4,025 ft 3 /s) and the smallest mean absolute residual (2,600 ft 3 /s). Somewhat surprisingly, streamflows interpolated from the NWS 6-hour model time series had the third smallest RMSE (4,483 ft 3 /s) and mean absolute residual (4,050 ft 3 /s) in spite of being determined from a time series with a coarser time step than the USACE 1-hour modeled and computed time series. Measured streamflows at the Sardis gage and at the Hannibal Lock and Dam measurement location were plotted versus residuals (expressed as a percentage of the measured streamflows) of corresponding interpolated time-series streamflow values. Results for each of the time series exhibited some anomaly, possibly indicating the need and (or) potential for improvement in the streamflow computational/modeling processes. Streamflow hydrographs were plotted for modeled/computed time series for the Ohio River near the USGS Sardis gage and the Ohio River at the Hannibal Lock and Dam. In general, the time series at these two locations compared well. Some notable differences include the exclusive presence of short periods of negative streamflows in the USGS 15-minute time-series data for the gage on the Ohio River above Sardis, Ohio, and the occurrence of several peak streamflows in the USACE gate/hydropower time series for the Hannibal Lock and Dam that were appreciably larger than corresponding peaks in the other time series, including those modeled/computed for the downstream Sardis gage