hydroPSO

Apr 13, 2012 · 2 min read
My Caption
rpackages

Description

hydroPSO is an R package developed to provide a robust and flexible framework for the global optimisation and calibration of environmental and engineering models. It implements state-of-the-art variants of the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) algorithm, designed to efficiently explore complex parameter spaces commonly associated with non-linear, non-smooth, and computationally demanding models.

The package was conceived with practical modelling workflows in mind. It is fully model-independent, allowing users to couple the optimisation engine with virtually any simulation model, whether implemented in R or executed externally, without requiring modifications to the model’s internal code. This architecture makes hydroPSO particularly suitable for systematic calibration of hydrological and environmental models, where reproducibility, transparency, and flexibility are essential.

To support rigorous model evaluation, hydroPSO includes advanced diagnostic and sensitivity analysis capabilities, as well as comprehensive graphical summaries that facilitate interpretation of optimisation results. Its parallel computing support enables efficient use of multi-core machines and computing clusters, helping to reduce the computational burden associated with large-scale or high-resolution simulations.

Widely used in research, teaching, and applied modelling, hydroPSO provides a technically sound and operationally reliable optimisation environment. It is especially well suited for users who require a scalable, transparent, and methodologically robust tool to calibrate complex models and support evidence-based analysis in hydrology and related environmental sciences.

Reference

hydroTSM R package.

hydroPSO R package.

R Package Optimisation Hydrology Hydrological Modelling
Dr. Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini
Authors
Dr. Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini (he/him)
Associate Professor

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of La Frontera. I hold a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Trento (Italy) and completed postdoctoral training at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. I have more than 20 years of experience in water resources research and have previously served as an Associate Researcher at the Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)2 and as a member of the Earth Sciences Assessment Group of the Chilean National Research and Development Agency (ANID).

My research lies at the interface of hydrology, data science, and environmental sciences, with a particular focus on the use of gridded datasets and open-source tools to investigate droughts, extreme events, and water-related impacts of global change.

I work across spatial and temporal scales to improve the understanding of catchment-scale hydrological processes and to translate this knowledge into operational modelling, forecasting, and early-warning systems that support robust environmental decision-making.

Please reach out to collaborate 😃