HydroMET-EO: An interoperable tool using Earth Observations for SWAT model evaluations (version 1)

HydroMET-EO (Hydrologic Model Evaluation Tool - Earth Observation) is the first-of-its-type desktop-based semi-automatic software designed for Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model. In its current version, HydroMET-EO harmonizes EO datasets of evapotranspiration, Leaf Area Index, and Soil Moisture from varying sources and resolutions to SWAT’s structure and time-step, enabling subbasin-level evaluation of model outputs. Guided by a user-friendly graphical interface with reproducible workflows, statistical metrics, and visual aids, HydroMET-EO streamlines EO integration and thus advances how we typically evaluate the accuracy and physical consistency of hydrologic models and watershed management decisions. Our case studies highlight the tool’s effectiveness, demonstrating that models calibrated solely on streamflow data, despite excellent performance, may fail to capture other critical hydrologic processes.

Here we provide HydroMET-EO software executable, a user guide, and an example SWAT project with pre-processed EO data.

Wang, L., Rajib, A., Merwade, V. (2025). Making earth observations model-friendly: An interoperable tool enabling comprehensive use of earth observations for hydrologic model evaluations. Environmental Modelling & Software. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106618

Developed by Linji Wang, Purdue University.

HydroMET-EO（水文模型评估工具-地球观测，Hydrologic Model Evaluation Tool - Earth Observation）是首款专为土壤与水评估工具（Soil and Water Assessment Tool, SWAT）水文模型打造的桌面端半自动软件。在当前版本中，HydroMET-EO可将多源多分辨率的地球观测（Earth Observation, EO）数据集——涵盖蒸散发（evapotranspiration）、叶面积指数（Leaf Area Index）与土壤湿度（Soil Moisture）——适配至SWAT的模型结构与时间步长，支持开展子流域尺度的模型输出评估。依托简洁易用的图形化界面、可复现的工作流、标准化统计指标与可视化辅助工具，HydroMET-EO大幅简化了EO数据的集成流程，从而革新了当前水文模型精度与物理一致性评估，以及流域管理决策验证的常规范式。本研究通过案例验证了该工具的实际效能，结果表明：仅以径流数据率定的水文模型，即便径流模拟精度优异，也可能无法捕捉其他关键水文过程。

本次研究附带提供HydroMET-EO软件可执行文件、用户使用手册，以及一套搭载预处理EO数据的SWAT示例项目。

Wang, L., Rajib, A., Merwade, V. (2025). 让地球观测数据适配模型需求：一款可实现地球观测数据全面应用的水文模型评估互操作工具. 《环境建模与软件》. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106618

该软件由普渡大学Linji Wang开发。