Retrospective analysis of published hydrological researches: models, trends and geographical aspects over the last two decades of hydrological modelling

Abstract

The expanding knowledge of natural processes, increasing computing capacity and demands related to the current environmental changes has resulted in more complex and a greater number of hydrological models. The amount of papers or studies has been rising sharply, especially over the last two decades. To understand the evolution, we statistically analysed papers involving the field of hydrological modelling. We explored the records of the SCOPUS web database for the time period of 1998 – 2017. Nearly 760 publications were identified. First, we compared the number of the papers to determine trends of their production. In the analysis, we focused on the classification of pre-defined factors – authorship, geographic origin, and the spatial and temporal scales of every model. We also conducted cluster analysis to highlight possible links between the individual models and the above-mentioned factors. The analysis of the data shows significant changes in the methodology applied iFn hydrological research as a result of the growing data availability, new sources of information and the importance of global research endeavours. Our findings highlight the increasing quantity and internationalization in the field.