Predicting streamflow distributions and flow duration curves from landscape and climate

Doulatyari, B and Betterle, A and Basso, S and Biswal, Basudev and Schirmer, M and Botter, G (2015) Predicting streamflow distributions and flow duration curves from landscape and climate. Advances in Water Resources, 83. pp. 285-298. ISSN 0309-1708

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Abstract

Characterizing the probability distribution of streamflows in catchments lacking in discharge measurements represents an attractive prospect with consequences for practical and scientific applications, in particular water resources management. In this paper, a physically-based analytic model of streamflow dynamics is combined with a set of water balance models and a geomorphological recession flow model in order to estimate streamflow probability distributions based on catchment-scale climatic and morphologic features. The models used are described and the novel parameterization approach is elaborated on. Starting from rainfall data, potential evapotranspiration and digital terrain maps, the method proved capable of capturing the statistics of observed streamflows reasonably well in 11 test catchments distributed throughout the United States, east of the rocky mountains. The method developed offers a unique approach for estimating probability distribution of streamflows where only climatic and geomorphologic features are known.

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IITH Creators:

IITH Creators	ORCiD
Biswal, Basudev	http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1088-7229

Item Type:

Article

Additional Information:

Additional support was provided by the Competence Center Environment and Sustainability (CCES) of the ETH domain in the framework of the RECORD and RECORD Catchment projects. Gianluca Botter acknowledges funding from project 60A09-4895/13 “Regimi idrologici e cambiamenti climatici”. The EU project “SmartWater” is also acknowledged. Special thanks to i4 Consulting S.r.l. for their data management services.

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Streamflows; Stochastic model; Flow duration curve; Physically-based; Parameterization

Subjects:

Civil Engineering > Soil Structure Interaction

Divisions:

Department of Civil Engineering

Depositing User:

Team Library

Date Deposited:

11 Aug 2015 04:58

Last Modified:

29 Aug 2017 11:40