Evaluating the Performance of a Daily Hydrological Model for Simulating Streamflow in Northern Algeria

Evaluating the Performance of a Daily Hydrological Model for Simulating Streamflow in Northern Algeria | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Evaluating the Performance of a Daily Hydrological Model for Simulating Streamflow in Northern Algeria Ouardia Gueciouer Teffah, Salima Charifi Bellabas, Ziane Mahdi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8326309/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In the Mediterranean basin, a region highly susceptible to climate change, understanding hydrological responses is critical for water security. This research addresses the challenge of declining water resources in Northern Algeria by evaluating the GR4J hydrological model's capacity to simulate daily streamflow in the 2500 km² Sebaou watershed. The model was calibrated and validated using observed rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and streamflow data from four representative sub-basins. The model demonstrated strong performance, achieving Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) values up to 96.6% in calibration and 65.5% in validation. The resulting hydrographs accurately captured both low-flow periods and flood events, confirming the model's robustness. The findings validate the GR4J model as a reliable tool for decision support, offering significant implications for managing water resources and mitigating the risks of extreme events in a changing climate. Hydrological Modeling GR4J Climate Change Sebaou Watershed Streamflow Simulation Algeria Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8326309","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":579243072,"identity":"c21a1972-ad24-48ea-81fa-f4e8426f805d","order_by":0,"name":"Ouardia Gueciouer Teffah","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Faculty of Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ouardia","middleName":"Gueciouer","lastName":"Teffah","suffix":""},{"id":579243073,"identity":"1cbe2b4b-987b-4c13-b8c6-f0c326d4c43c","order_by":1,"name":"Salima Charifi Bellabas","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"National Higher School of Marine Science and Coastal Development (ENSSMAL)","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Salima","middleName":"Charifi","lastName":"Bellabas","suffix":""},{"id":579243074,"identity":"3c24c718-d4f4-4f51-9823-3c49b09eb4f4","order_by":2,"name":"Ziane Mahdi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Faculty of Technology, University of Tlemcen","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ziane","middleName":"","lastName":"Mahdi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-10 10:38:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8326309/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8326309/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102747492,"identity":"cf6f4516-e0b4-4275-8f64-7f954efccf72","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-16 09:04:51","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":992550,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptLatex1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8326309/v1_covered_f2b77450-e811-405e-a26a-b7581bd9769f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Evaluating the Performance of a Daily Hydrological Model for Simulating Streamflow in Northern Algeria","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Hydrological Modeling, GR4J, Climate Change, Sebaou Watershed, Streamflow Simulation, Algeria","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8326309/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8326309/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn the Mediterranean basin, a region highly susceptible to climate change, understanding hydrological responses is critical for water security. This research addresses the challenge of declining water resources in Northern Algeria by evaluating the GR4J hydrological model's capacity to simulate daily streamflow in the 2500 km\u0026sup2; Sebaou watershed. The model was calibrated and validated using observed rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and streamflow data from four representative sub-basins. The model demonstrated strong performance, achieving Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) values up to 96.6% in calibration and 65.5% in validation. The resulting hydrographs accurately captured both low-flow periods and flood events, confirming the model's robustness. 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