Transport at basin scales: 2. Applications

Abstract. In this paper, the second of a series, we apply the models discussed in Part 1 to a significant case study. The nature of the catchment under study, the transport phenomena investigated (i.e. nitrates moving as solutes within runoff waters) and the scales involved in space and time, provide an elaborate test for theory and applications. Comparison of modeling predictions with field data (i.e. fluxes of carrier flow and solute nitrates) suggests that the framework proposed for geomorphic transport models is capable to describe well large-scale transport phenomena driven and/or controlled by spatially distributed hydrologic fields (e.g. rainfall patterns in space and time, drainage pathways, soil coverage and type, matter stored in immobile phases). A sample MonteCarlo mode of application of the model is also discussed where hydrologic forcings and external nitrate applications (through fertilization) are treated as random processes.