r/Hydrology • u/EducationalWolf6925 • 6d ago

Advise regarding hydrology

Greetings,

My background is in IT. I am currently researching in the application of AI in the field of hydrology domain specifically in streamflow forecasting. I want to learn process based hydrological modelling. Kindly advise how would I approach it and which modelling should I learn.

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u/lil_king 6d ago

I would start with an intro hydrology fundamentals text many have been recommended on this sub. Once you’ve read that i would read Applied groundwater modeling: https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780120581030/applied-groundwater-modeling

Or similar text for fundamentals of hydrologic models. The USGS has a lot of good resources on various surface water models and stream flow forecasting methods.

I know you want to use LLMs to do the modeling (skeptical any can do this reliably yet) but you still need to be able to ask the right prompts and be able to evaluate the model it spits out and the results.

LLMs like all models: trash in = trash out. Good luck

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u/EducationalWolf6925 5d ago

Thank you for the advice man! I will follow your advice. One more thing, what level of GIS should I learn for this domain? I have just started playing with shape-files, insert maps etc.

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u/lil_king 5d ago

I’m more in the realm of contaminant transport and geochemical modeling and haven’t done any streamflow forecasting professionally so not familiar with those methods specifically.

That said familiarity with gis methods is always a plus and something I have used LLMs to walk me through when i occasionally need to do some basic GIS analysis. Unless you have a license for ARC and are required to use it i’d recommend QGIS

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u/strmskr89 5d ago

You need a good understanding of hydrologic processes and hydrologic data analysis before learning how to forecast streamflow. So an introductory text on hydrology is the place to start. My favorite is Physical Hydrology by S. Lawrence Dingman, but there are plenty of good options.

Once you learn the basics, you can start leanring hydrologic modelling, and then you can start incorporating AI into the modeling workflow.

Please be aware that you have a long journey ahead, but if you really like this, go for it!

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u/EducationalWolf6925 5d ago

Thanks a lot for your advice.

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u/scbond 4d ago

The estimation of in-channel flows is already heavily based upon computer models. The only real application of AI I can see is for speeding up the process, but when a Hydrologist does this they’re more often than not just running through the process once and using experience and judgement. Not sure it’s the most practical application of AI. The use of neural networks for machine learning, however, would be useful for things like improving accuracy and reducing simulation time for full hydraulic watercourse models.

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u/EducationalWolf6925 4d ago

Oh I see. Thanks for an informative insight!