Methods for combining the outputs of different rainfall-runoff models

The present paper promotes the concept of combining the estimated output of different rainfall-runoff models to produce an overall combined estimated output to be used as an alternative to that obtained from a single individual rainfall-runoff model. Three methods of combining model outputs are considered, namely the simple average method (SAM), the weighted average method (WAM) and the neural network method (NNM). The estimated discharges of five rainfall-runoff models for 11 catchments are used to test the performance of these three combination methods. The results confirm that better discharge estimates can be obtained by combining the model outputs of different models. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.