Application of SAC-SMA and IPH II hydrological models in the Teles Pires River basin, Brazil

ABSTRACT Parameterization and performance analysis of a hydrological model allow its consolidation, so that water-resource management strategies could be evaluated and extreme events forecast. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the performance of the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting (SAC-SMA) and IPH II models for runoff estimation in the Teles Pires River basin, which is located in the Amazon region, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Both models were automatically calibrated using Shuffled Complex Evolution algorithm (SCE-UA) and validated for five runoff monitoring units. Our results showed that both are suitable for daily runoff modeling in the Teles Pires River basin with higher performance in larger drainage area basins. We can also infer that the simple use of complex rainfall-runoff models might not provide improved estimates. Although the SAC-SMA is the most complex and detailed model for hydrological processes, it has not outperformed IPH II in any of the monitoring units in the Teles Pires River.