CAMELS-FR dataset: A large-sample hydroclimatic dataset for France to explore hydrological diversity and support model benchmarking

Initially limited by data availability and computing resources, hydrological modelling has advanced significantly with efforts to make test catchments widely accessible, by sharing hydrological data, like it was made by the landmark MOPEX initiative (Schaake et al., 2006). In France, the CAMELS-FR dataset (Delaigue et al., 2024c, 2024d) was developed to support large-scale hydrological studies, gathering near-natural catchments, in line with the CAMELS dataset already built in various countries (see e.g. Addor et al., 2017).

The CAMELS-FR dataset features daily hydroclimatic time series, also aggregated at the monthly and yearly time steps. In addition, the dataset includes catchment-specific attributes covering location, topography, climatic indices, gauging characteristics, hydrological signatures, hydrogeology, geology, soil characteristics, land cover, and level of human influences. The criteria for catchment selection were based on data availability, low-level of regulation, consistency of catchment area estimates, and data quality.

The first version of the CAMELS-FR dataset comprises data from 654 catchments across France, with time series spanning from 1970 to 2021, and 255 attributes organized into 10 classes. These catchments encompass a wide range of hydroclimatic contexts, from snow and groundwater-dominated to Mediterranean climates.

The CAMELS-FR dataset is complemented by graphical fact sheets (Delaigue et al., 2024a) that provide static summaries of hydroclimatic, topographical, hydrogeological, and land cover data, as well as dynamic graphs of hydroclimatic time series (Delaigue et al., 2024b) for interactive analysis.

Designed as a "living" dataset, CAMELS-FR will undergo updates to extend time series, correct streamflow values, and add new catchments, including overseas territories. Future versions may include data at finer temporal and spatial resolutions. An extension into the global Caravan initiative (Kratzert et al., 2023) is also planned.

References

Addor, N., Newman, A. J., Mizukami, N., and Clark, M. P.: The CAMELS data set: catchment attributes and meteorology for large-sample studies, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 21, 5293–5313, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5293-2017, 2017.

Delaigue, O., Brigode, P., Lobligeois, F., Bourgin, P.-Y., and Guimarães, G. M.: CAMELS-FR graphical fact sheets, https://doi.org/10.57745/KK2SVJ, V1, 2024a.

Delaigue, O., Génot, B., and Guimarães, G. M.: CAMELS-FR time series dynamic graphs, https://doi.org/10.57745/HBQWP5, V1, 2024b.

Delaigue, O., Guimarães, G. M., Brigode, P., Génot, B., Perrin, C., and Andréassian, V.: CAMELS-FR dataset, https://doi.org/10.57745/WH7FJR, V1, 2024c.

Delaigue, O., Guimarães, G. M., Brigode, P., Génot, B., Perrin, C., Soubeyroux, J.-M., Janet, B., Addor, N., and Andréassian, V.: CAMELS-FR dataset: A large-sample hydroclimatic dataset for France to explore hydrological diversity and support model benchmarking, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-415, in review, 2024d.

Kratzert, F., Nearing, G., Addor, N., Erickson, T., Gauch, M., Gilon, O., Gudmundsson, L., Hassidim, A., Klotz, D., Nevo, S., Shalev, G., and Matias, Y.: Caravan - A global community dataset for large-sample hydrology, Scientific Data, 10, 61, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-01975-w, 2023.

Schaake, J., Cong, S., and Duan, Q.: The US mopex data set, IAHS Publication Series, 307, 9–28, https://www.osti.gov/biblio/899413, 2006.