Impact model: VIC

Sector
Water (global)
Region
global

VIC is one of the 13 global hydrology models following the ISIMIP2a protocol which form the base of simulations for the ISIMIP2a global water sector outputs; for a full technical description of the ISIMIP2a Simulation Data from Water (global) Sector, see this DOI link: http://doi.org/10.5880/PIK.2017.010

Information for the model VIC is provided for the simulation rounds shown in the tabs below. Click on the appropriate tab to get the information for the simulation round you are interested in.

Person responsible for model simulations in this simulation round
Wietse Franssen: wietse.franssen@wur.nl, Wageningen University (Netherlands)
Vimal Mishra: vmishra@iitgn.ac.in, 0000-0002-3046-6296, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (India)
Harsh L. Shah: harsh.lovekumar.shah@iitgn.ac.in, 0000-0002-0717-0729, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (India)
Fulu Tao: taofl@igsnrr.ac.cn, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (China)
Ren Zhai: zhair.15b@igsnrr.ac.cn, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China)
Output Data
Experiments: II, III and VIII with nosoc_co2 (option 3) for historical and future periods and all 4 GCMs
Climate Drivers: None
Date: 2022-06-29
Basic information
Model Version: VIC.4.1.2.g
Model Output License: CC0
Model Homepage: https://vic.readthedocs.io/en/master/
Reference Paper: Main Reference: Xu Liang, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Eric F. Wood, Stephen J. Burges et al. A simple hydrologically based model of land surface water and energy fluxes for general circulation models. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH Atmosphere,99,14,415-14,428,1994
Resolution
Spatial aggregation: regular grid
Horizontal resolution: 0.5°x0.5°
Temporal resolution of input data: climate variables: monthly
Temporal resolution of input data: soil: constant
Input data
Simulated atmospheric climate data sets used: IPSL-CM5A-LR, HadGEM2-ES, GFDL-ESM2M, MIROC5
Climate variables: tasmax, tasmin, pr
Spin-up
Was a spin-up performed?: Yes
Soil
Soil layers: FAO soil layer
Routing
Runoff routing: The VIC model solves water and energy fluxes, grid by grid at daily time steps. A separate routing model is used to simulate discharge at different gauge locations.
Routing data: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model (SRTM DEM) was used to prepare routing files (flow direction, flow fraction, flow mask and station files).
Calibration
Was the model calibrated?: No
Vegetation
How is vegetation represented?: Vegetation parameters were obtained from the Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR).
Methods
Potential evapotranspiration: The VIC uses Penman-Monteith method to estimate potential evapotranspiration.
Person responsible for model simulations in this simulation round
Xiaoyan Wang: xywang@hhu.edu.cn, Hohai University (China)
Tian Zhou: tian.zhou@pnnl.gov, 0000-0003-1582-4005, PNNL (USA)
Output Data
Experiments: historical
Climate Drivers: None
Date: 2017-02-20
Experiments: historical
Climate Drivers: None
Date: 2016-05-11
Resolution
Spatial aggregation: regular grid
Horizontal resolution: 0.5°x0.5°
Temporal resolution of input data: climate variables: daily
Temporal resolution of input data: co2: constant
Temporal resolution of input data: land use/land cover: annual
Temporal resolution of input data: soil: constant
Additional temporal resolution information: co2 has no effect on the simulation
Input data
Observed atmospheric climate data sets used: GSWP3, PGMFD v2.1 (Princeton), WATCH (WFD), WATCH-WFDEI
Climate variables: tasmax, tasmin, wind, pr
Exceptions to Protocol
Exceptions: no
Spin-up
Was a spin-up performed?: Yes
Spin-up design: 1901-1970
Natural Vegetation
Natural vegetation partition: Natural vegetation was fixed, provided by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer–based, 1-km, global land classification. Irrigation fraction was dynamic, derived from the provided MIRCA dataset
Management & Adaptation Measures
Management: Irrigation starts as additional precipitation during the growing season when soil moisture drops below the wilting point and stops until field capacity is reached. Dam opeartion is optimized based on reservoir functions such as flood control, irrigation, hydropower generation, and water supply
Technological Progress
Technological progress: no
Soil
Soil layers: Three soil layers
Water Use
Water-use types: irrigation
Water-use sectors: irrigation
Routing
Runoff routing: Unit hydrograph approach see Lohmann, et. al. "A large‐scale horizontal routing model to be coupled to land surface parametrization schemes." Tellus A 48.5 (1996): 708-721.
Land Use
Land-use change effects: Irrigation area. Irrigation starts as additional precipitation during the growing season when soil moisture drops below the wilting point and stops until field capacity is reached.
Dams & Reservoirs
Dam and reservoir implementation: Dam opeartion is optimized based on reservoir functions such as flood control, irrigation, hydropower generation, and water supply
Calibration
Was the model calibrated?: Yes
Which years were used for calibration?: Monthly runoff climatology 1948-2010
Which dataset was used for calibration?: Princeton
How many catchments were callibrated?: Observed flow was inversely routed to 1-deg resoulution grid cell first for 44 basins. Calibration was done for every 1-deg grid cell seperately
Vegetation
Is co2 fertilisation accounted for?: No
How is vegetation represented?: Fixed monthly plant characteristics
Methods
Potential evapotranspiration: Penman-Monteith
Snow melt: Energy Balance
Person responsible for model simulations in this simulation round
Ingjerd Haddeland: iha@nve.no, The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (Norway)
Fulco Ludwig: fulco.ludwig@wur.nl, Wageningen University (Netherlands)
Tian Zhou: tian.zhou@pnnl.gov, 0000-0003-1582-4005, PNNL (USA)
Output Data
Experiments: historical, rcp26, rcp45, rcp60, rcp85
Climate Drivers: None
Date: 2013-12-17