Predicting Monthly Runoff: A BO-CNN-LSTM Approach for Enhanced Water Resource Management

Monthly runoff prediction is critical for sustainable water resource management, flood control, and drought preparedness. Accurate forecasts assist decision-making and management of water resources, which are critical for human and environmental demands. Previous prediction algorithms frequently lack accuracy due to human-defined hyperparameters. Autonomous hyperparameter tuning is required for improved predictions. Objectives: To improve the accuracy of monthly runoff predictions, this research proposes a BO-CNN-LSTM model that integrates Bayesian optimization (BO) with a convolutional neural network-long short-term memory neural network (CNN-LSTM). Methods/Analysis: The BO algorithm is utilized to enhance the CNN-LSTM model's hyperparameters, which helps to overcome the limits of human-set parameters. Model training and validation were carried out using monthly runoff data from 1956 to 2019 from Lanxi Station in the Hulan River Basin. The model's prediction performance was assessed using root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), fitting coefficient (R²), and mean relative error (MAPE), and compared with other previous models. Findings: The results show that the BO-CNN-LSTM model outperforms conventional models in prediction accuracy and reduction of errors. The BO method efficiently enhances hyperparameters, resulting in higher performance metrics. This model gives more precise and dependable monthly runoff forecasts, which are critical for handling the Hulan River Basin's water resources. Novelty/Improvement: By combining BO and CNN-LSTM, the proposed model solves the constraints of previous models, improving prediction accuracy and reducing errors. This innovative technique presents a promising novel approach for monthly runoff prediction, with possible applications in larger hydrological prediction.