Stochastic synthesis of hydrologic data based on concepts of pattern recognition: III. Performance evaluation of the methodology

Abstract Synthetic realizations of monthly streamflows obtained by utilizing a feature synthesis model are tested from statistical and hydrological viewpoints. In terms of statistical considerations the synthetic realizations are shown to possess relevant properties of the historical streamflows at the series level as well as at the monthly level. From hydrological considerations, the synthetic realizations are found to be embedded in properties that are associated with clusters of low flows and clusters of peak flows that are comparable to those in the historical sample. The model results suggest that the synthesis of streamflows based on concepts of pattern recognition is a potentially viable approach and warrants further investigation.