Clark, Martyn P.Schaefli, BettinaSchymanski, Stanislaus J.Samaniego, LuisLuce, Charles H.Jackson, Bethanna M.Freer, Jim E.Arnold, Jeffrey R.Moore, R. DanIstanbulluoglu, ErkanCeola, Serena2016-07-122016-07-122016-07-12201610.1002/2015WR017910https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/127136WOS:000374706300043In this Commentary, we argue that it is possible to improve the physical realism of hydrologic models by making better use of existing hydrologic theory. We address the following questions: (1) what are some key elements of current hydrologic theory; (2) how can those elements best be incorporated where they may be missing in current models; and (3) how can we evaluate competing hydrologic theories across scales and locations? We propose that hydrologic science would benefit from a model-based community synthesis effort to reframe, integrate, and evaluate different explanations of hydrologic behavior, and provide a controlled avenue to find where understanding falls short.hydrological modellingtext::journal::journal article::research article