Articles | Volume 16, issue 2
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 457–472, 2012
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-457-2012
© Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Special issue: Hydrology education in a changing world
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 457–472, 2012
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-457-2012
© Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article 13 Feb 2012
Research article | 13 Feb 2012
Promoting interdisciplinary education − the Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems
G. Blöschl et al.
Related subject area
Subject: Catchment hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Theory development
Hillslope and groundwater contributions to streamflow in a Rocky Mountain watershed underlain by glacial till and fractured sedimentary bedrock
A framework for seasonal variations of hydrological model parameters: impact on model results and response to dynamic catchment characteristics
Hydrology and beyond: the scientific work of August Colding revisited
The influence of a prolonged meteorological drought on catchment water storage capacity: a hydrological-model perspective
Hydrological and runoff formation processes based on isotope tracing during ablation period in the source regions of Yangtze River
Importance of snowmelt contribution to seasonal runoff and summer low flows in Czechia
Concentration–discharge relationships vary among hydrological events, reflecting differences in event characteristics
Technical note:
Recession analysis revisited: impacts of climate on parameter estimation
Understanding the effects of climate warming on streamflow and active groundwater storage in an alpine catchment: the upper Lhasa River
Technical note: An improved discharge sensitivity metric for young water fractions
Hydrological signatures describing the translation of climate seasonality into streamflow seasonality
Spatial and temporal variation in river corridor exchange across a 5th-order mountain stream network
Historic hydrological droughts 1891–2015: systematic characterisation for a diverse set of catchments across the UK
A topographic index explaining hydrological similarity by accounting for the joint controls of runoff formation
Trajectories of nitrate input and output in three nested catchments along a land use gradient
Contrasting rainfall-runoff characteristics of floods in desert and Mediterranean basins
Anthropogenic and catchment characteristic signatures in the water quality of Swiss rivers: a quantitative assessment
Using paired catchments to quantify the human influence on hydrological droughts
HESS Opinions: Socio-economic and ecological trade-offs of flood management – benefits of a transdisciplinary approach
A parsimonious transport model of emerging contaminants at the river network scale
Emergent stationarity in Yellow River sediment transport and the underlying shift of dominance: from streamflow to vegetation
A new probability density function for spatial distribution of soil water storage capacity leads to the SCS curve number method
How does initial soil moisture influence the hydrological response? A case study from southern France
Studying catchment storm response using event- and pre-event-water volumes as fractions of precipitation rather than discharge
Anatomy of simultaneous flood peaks at a lowland confluence
Including effects of watershed heterogeneity in the curve number method using variable initial abstraction
Seasonal shifts in export of DOC and nutrients from burned and unburned peatland-rich catchments, Northwest Territories, Canada
Sensitivity of young water fractions to hydro-climatic forcing and landscape properties across 22 Swiss catchments
Effects of climatic seasonality on the isotopic composition of evaporating soil waters
From engineering hydrology to Earth system science: milestones in the transformation of hydrologic science
Human influences on streamflow drought characteristics in England and Wales
A dimensionless approach for the runoff peak assessment: effects of the rainfall event structure
Groundwater impacts on surface water quality and nutrient loads in lowland polder catchments: monitoring the greater Amsterdam area
Experimental determination of the flood wave transformation and the sediment resuspension in a small regulated stream in an agricultural catchment
The CAMELS data set: catchment attributes and meteorology for large-sample studies
Hydrological controls on DOC : nitrate resource stoichiometry in a lowland, agricultural catchment, southern UK
Spatio-temporal patterns of the effects of precipitation variability and land use/cover changes on long-term changes in sediment yield in the Loess Plateau, China
Origin of water in the Badain Jaran Desert, China: new insight from isotopes
Evaluation of extensive floods in western/central Europe
Ensemble reconstruction of spatio-temporal extreme low-flow events in France since 1871
Unravelling abiotic and biotic controls on the seasonal water balance using data-driven dimensionless diagnostics
Flood risk reduction and flow buffering as ecosystem services – Part 1: Theory on flow persistence, flashiness and base flow
Flood risk reduction and flow buffering as ecosystem services – Part 2: Land use and rainfall intensity effects in Southeast Asia
Historical and future trends in wetting and drying in 291 catchments across China
On the non-stationarity of hydrological response in anthropogenically unaffected catchments: an Australian perspective
Towards a tracer-based conceptualization of meltwater dynamics and streamflow response in a glacierized catchment
Age-ranked hydrological budgets and a travel time description of catchment hydrology
The evolution of root-zone moisture capacities after deforestation: a step towards hydrological predictions under change?
Estimating spatially distributed soil texture using time series of thermal remote sensing – a case study in central Europe
Sheena A. Spencer, Axel E. Anderson, Uldis Silins, and Adrian L. Collins
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 237–255, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-237-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-237-2021, 2021
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We used unique chemical signatures of precipitation, hillslope soil water, and groundwater sources of streamflow to explore seasonal variation in runoff generation in a snow-dominated mountain watershed underlain by glacial till and permeable bedrock. Reacted hillslope water reached the stream first at the onset of snowmelt, followed by a dilution effect by snowmelt from May to June. Groundwater and riparian water were important sources later in the summer. Till created complex subsurface flow.
Tian Lan, Kairong Lin, Chong-Yu Xu, Zhiyong Liu, and Huayang Cai
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5859–5874, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5859-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5859-2020, 2020
Dan Rosbjerg
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4575–4585, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4575-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4575-2020, 2020
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August Colding contributed the first law of thermodynamics, evaporation from water and grass, steady free surfaces in conduits, the cross-sectional velocity distribution in conduits, a complete theory for the Gulf Stream, air speed in cyclones, the piezometric surface in confined aquifers, the unconfined elliptic water table in soil between drain pipes, and the wind-induced set-up in the sea during storms.
Zhengke Pan, Pan Liu, Chong-Yu Xu, Lei Cheng, Jing Tian, Shujie Cheng, and Kang Xie
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4369–4387, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4369-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4369-2020, 2020
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This study aims to identify the response of catchment water storage capacity (CWSC) to meteorological drought by examining the changes of hydrological-model parameters after drought events. This study improves our understanding of possible changes in the CWSC induced by a prolonged meteorological drought, which will help improve our ability to simulate the hydrological system under climate change.
Zong-Jie Li, Zong-Xing Li, Ling-Ling Song, Juan Gui, Jian Xue, Bai Juan Zhang, and Wen De Gao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4169–4187, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4169-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4169-2020, 2020
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This study mainly explores the hydraulic relations, recharge–drainage relations and their transformation paths, and the processes of each water body. It determines the composition of runoff, quantifies the contribution of each runoff component to different types of tributaries, and analyzes the hydrological effects of the temporal and spatial variation in runoff components. More importantly, we discuss the hydrological significance of permafrost and hydrological processes.
Michal Jenicek and Ondrej Ledvinka
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 3475–3491, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3475-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3475-2020, 2020
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Changes in snow affect the runoff seasonality, including summer low flows. Here we analyse this effect in 59 mountain catchments in Czechia. We show that snow is more effective in generating runoff compared to rain. Snow-poor years generated lower groundwater recharge than snow-rich years, which resulted in higher deficit volumes in summer. The lower recharge and runoff in the case of a snowfall-to-rain transition due to air temperature increase might be critical for water supply in the future.
Julia L. A. Knapp, Jana von Freyberg, Bjørn Studer, Leonie Kiewiet, and James W. Kirchner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2561–2576, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2561-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2561-2020, 2020
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Changes of stream water chemistry in response to discharge changes provide important insights into the storage and release of water from the catchment. Here we investigate the variability in concentration–discharge relationships among different solutes and hydrologic events and relate it to catchment conditions and dominant water sources.
Bit by bit: A practical and general approach for evaluating model computational complexity vs. model performance
Elnaz Azmi, Uwe Ehret, Steven V. Weijs, Benjamin L. Ruddell, and Rui A. P. Perdigão
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-128, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-128, 2020
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
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Computer models should be as simple as possible, but not simpler. Simplicity refers to the length of the model, and the effort it takes the model to generate its output. Here we present a practical technique for measuring the latter by the number of memory visits during model execution by
Strace, a troubleshooting and monitoring program. The advantage of this approach is that it can be applied to any computer-based model, which facilitates model intercomparison.
Elizabeth R. Jachens, David E. Rupp, Clément Roques, and John S. Selker
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1159–1170, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1159-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1159-2020, 2020
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Recession analysis uses the receding streamflow following precipitation events to estimate watershed-average properties. Two methods for recession analysis use recession events individually or all events collectively. Using synthetic case studies, this paper shows that analyzing recessions collectively produces flawed interpretations. Moving forward, recession analysis using individual recessions should be used to describe the average and variability of watershed behavior.
Lu Lin, Man Gao, Jintao Liu, Jiarong Wang, Shuhong Wang, Xi Chen, and Hu Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1145–1157, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1145-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1145-2020, 2020
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In this paper, recession flow analysis – assuming nonlinearized outflow from aquifers into streams – was used to quantify active groundwater storage in a headwater catchment with high glacierization and large-scale frozen ground on the Tibetan Plateau. Hence, this work provides a perspective to clarify the impact of glacial retreat and frozen ground degradation due to climate change on hydrological processes.
Francesc Gallart, Jana von Freyberg, María Valiente, James W. Kirchner, Pilar Llorens, and Jérôme Latron
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1101–1107, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1101-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1101-2020, 2020
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How catchments store and release rain or melting water is still not well known. Now, it is broadly accepted that most of the water in streams is older than several months, and a relevant part may be many years old. But the age of water depends on the stream regime, being usually younger during high flows. This paper tries to provide tools for better analysing how the age of waters varies with flow in a catchment and for comparing the behaviour of catchments diverging in climate, size and regime.
Sebastian J. Gnann, Nicholas J. K. Howden, and Ross A. Woods
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 561–580, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-561-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-561-2020, 2020
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In many places, seasonal variability in precipitation and evapotranspiration (climate) leads to seasonal variability in river flow (streamflow). In this work, we explore how climate seasonality is transformed into streamflow seasonality and what controls this transformation (e.g. climate aridity and geology). The results might be used in grouping catchments, predicting the seasonal streamflow regime in ungauged catchments, and building hydrological simulation models.
Adam S. Ward, Steven M. Wondzell, Noah M. Schmadel, Skuyler Herzog, Jay P. Zarnetske, Viktor Baranov, Phillip J. Blaen, Nicolai Brekenfeld, Rosalie Chu, Romain Derelle, Jennifer Drummond, Jan H. Fleckenstein, Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, Emily Graham, David Hannah, Ciaran J. Harman, Jase Hixson, Julia L. A. Knapp, Stefan Krause, Marie J. Kurz, Jörg Lewandowski, Angang Li, Eugènia Martí, Melinda Miller, Alexander M. Milner, Kerry Neil, Luisa Orsini, Aaron I. Packman, Stephen Plont, Lupita Renteria, Kevin Roche, Todd Royer, Catalina Segura, James Stegen, Jason Toyoda, Jacqueline Wells, and Nathan I. Wisnoski
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 5199–5225, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-5199-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-5199-2019, 2019
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The movement of water and solutes between streams and their shallow, connected subsurface is important to many ecosystem functions. These exchanges are widely expected to vary with stream flow across space and time, but these assumptions are seldom tested across basin scales. We completed more than 60 experiments across a 5th-order river basin to document these changes, finding patterns in space but not time. We conclude space-for-time and time-for-space substitutions are not good assumptions.
Lucy J. Barker, Jamie Hannaford, Simon Parry, Katie A. Smith, Maliko Tanguy, and Christel Prudhomme
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4583–4602, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4583-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4583-2019, 2019
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It is important to understand historic droughts in order to plan and prepare for possible future events. In this study we use the standardised streamflow index for 1891–2015 to systematically identify, characterise and rank hydrological drought events for 108 near-natural UK catchments. Results show when and where the most severe events occurred and describe events of the early 20th century, providing catchment-scale detail important for both science and planning applications of the future.
Ralf Loritz, Axel Kleidon, Conrad Jackisch, Martijn Westhoff, Uwe Ehret, Hoshin Gupta, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3807–3821, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3807-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3807-2019, 2019
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In this study, we develop a topographic index explaining hydrological similarity within a energy-centered framework, with the observation that the majority of potential energy is dissipated when rainfall becomes runoff.
Sophie Ehrhardt, Rohini Kumar, Jan H. Fleckenstein, Sabine Attinger, and Andreas Musolff
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3503–3524, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3503-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3503-2019, 2019
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This study shows quantitative and temporal offsets between nitrogen input and riverine output, using time series of three nested catchments in central Germany. The riverine concentrations show lagged reactions to the input, but at the same time exhibit strong inter-annual changes in the relationship between riverine discharge and concentration. The study found a strong retention of nitrogen that is dominantly assigned to a hydrological N legacy, which will affect future stream concentrations.
Davide Zoccatelli, Francesco Marra, Moshe Armon, Yair Rinat, James A. Smith, and Efrat Morin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2665–2678, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2665-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2665-2019, 2019
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This study presents a comparison of flood properties over multiple Mediterranean and desert catchments. While in Mediterranean areas floods are related to rainfall amount, in deserts we observed a strong connection with the characteristics of the more intense part of storms. Because of the different mechanisms involved, despite having significantly shorter and more localized storms, deserts are able to produce floods with a magnitude comparable to Mediterranean areas.
Martina Botter, Paolo Burlando, and Simone Fatichi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1885–1904, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1885-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1885-2019, 2019
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The study focuses on the solute export from rivers with the purpose of discerning the impacts of anthropic activities and catchment characteristics on water quality. The results revealed a more detectable impact of the anthropic activities than of the catchment characteristics. The solute export follows different dynamics depending on catchment characteristics and mainly on solute-specific properties. The export modality is consistent across different catchments only for a minority of solutes.
Anne F. Van Loon, Sally Rangecroft, Gemma Coxon, José Agustín Breña Naranjo, Floris Van Ogtrop, and Henny A. J. Van Lanen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1725–1739, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1725-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1725-2019, 2019
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We explore the use of the classic
paired-catchmentapproach to quantify human influence on hydrological droughts. In this approach two similar catchments are compared and differences are attributed to the human activity present in one. In two case studies in UK and Australia, we found that groundwater abstraction aggravated streamflow drought by > 200 % and water transfer alleviated droughts with 25–80 %. Understanding the human influence on droughts can support water management decisions.
Karl Auerswald, Peter Moyle, Simon Paul Seibert, and Juergen Geist
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1035–1044, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1035-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1035-2019, 2019
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The demand for flood protection often results in the construction of more and bigger levees along rivers. We highlight that such technical solutions often result in undesired socio-economic and ecological consequences such as increased downstream flooding risk, changes of groundwater levels, and a loss of aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. We propose a transdisciplinary approach of integrated flood management and green infrastructure instead of reliance on technical protection measures.
Elena Diamantini, Stefano Mallucci, and Alberto Bellin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 573–593, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-573-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-573-2019, 2019
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The description of pharmaceutical fate and transport introduced into a watershed is a challenging topic, especially because of the possible adverse effects on human health. In addition, an accurate estimation of solute sources and routes is still missing. This study uses a new promising modeling approach to predict pharmaceutical concentrations in rivers. Results show an interesting relationship between solute concentrations in waters and touristic fluxes.
Sheng Ye, Qihua Ran, Xudong Fu, Chunhong Hu, Guangqian Wang, Gary Parker, Xiuxiu Chen, and Siwei Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 549–556, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-549-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-549-2019, 2019
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Our study shows that there is declining coupling between sediment concentration and discharge from daily to annual scales for gauges across the Yellow River basin (YRB). Not only the coupling, but also the magnitude of sediment response to discharge variation decreases with long-term mean discharge. This emergent stationarity can be related to sediment retardation by vegetation, suggesting the shift of dominance from water to vegetation as mean annual discharge increases.
Dingbao Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 6567–6578, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6567-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6567-2018, 2018
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A novel distribution function is proposed for describing the spatial distribution of soil water storage capacity, and then the classical and empirical hydrologic model (the SCS curve number method) is derived as when the initial soil water storage is zero. This distribution function unifies the SCS curve number method and probability-distributed models such as the VIC and Xinanjiang models. The unified model provides a better way for modeling surface runoff.
Magdalena Uber, Jean-Pierre Vandervaere, Isabella Zin, Isabelle Braud, Maik Heistermann, Cédric Legoût, Gilles Molinié, and Guillaume Nord
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 6127–6146, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6127-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6127-2018, 2018
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We investigate how rivers in a flash-flood-prone region in southern France respond to rainfall depending on initial soil moisture. Therefore, high-resolution data of rainfall, river discharge and soil moisture were used. We find that during dry initial conditions, the rivers hardly respond even for heavy rain events, but for wet initial conditions, the response remains unpredictable: for some rain events almost all rainfall is transformed to discharge, whereas this is not the case for others.
Jana von Freyberg, Bjørn Studer, Michael Rinderer, and James W. Kirchner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5847–5865, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5847-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5847-2018, 2018
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We show event- and pre-event-water volumes as fractions of precipitation, rather than discharge, to provide an alternative and more insightful approach to study catchment hydrological processes. For this, we analyze 24 storm events using high-frequency measurements of stable water isotopes in stream water and precipitation at a pre-Alpine catchment. Antecedent wetness and storm characteristics are dominant controls on event-water discharge and pre-event-water mobilization from storage.
Tjitske J. Geertsema, Adriaan J. Teuling, Remko Uijlenhoet, Paul J. J. F. Torfs, and Antonius J. F. Hoitink
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5599–5613, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5599-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5599-2018, 2018
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This study investigate the processes and effects of simultaneous flood peaks at a lowland confluence. The flood peaks are analyzed with the relatively new dynamic time warping method, which offers a robust means of tracing flood waves in discharge time series at confluences. The time lag between discharge peaks in the main river and its lowland tributaries is small compared to the wave duration; therefore the exact timing of discharge peaks may be little relevant to flood risk.
Vijay P. Santikari and Lawrence C. Murdoch
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4725–4743, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4725-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4725-2018, 2018
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The curve number (CN) method is the most widely used approach for estimating runoff from rainfall. Despite its popularity, there is a conceptual flaw where CN varies with rainfall although it is assumed to be constant. In this paper, we describe theoretical analyses that show how this behavior is due to watershed heterogeneity, and we then provide simple modifications to the method to improve its runoff predictions. The findings will benefit hydrologists and watershed models that use CN method.
Katheryn Burd, Suzanne E. Tank, Nicole Dion, William L. Quinton, Christopher Spence, Andrew J. Tanentzap, and David Olefeldt
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4455–4472, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4455-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4455-2018, 2018
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In this study we investigated whether climate change and wildfires are likely to alter water quality of streams in western boreal Canada, a region that contains large permafrost-affected peatlands. We monitored stream discharge and water quality from early snowmelt to fall in two streams, one of which drained a recently burned landscape. Wildfire increased the stream delivery of phosphorous and possibly increased the release of old natural organic matter previously stored in permafrost soils.
Jana von Freyberg, Scott T. Allen, Stefan Seeger, Markus Weiler, and James W. Kirchner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3841–3861, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3841-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3841-2018, 2018
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We explored how the fraction of streamflow younger than ca. 3 months (Fyw) varies with landscape characteristics and climatic forcing, using an extensive isotope data set from 22 Swiss catchments. Overall, Fyw tends to be larger when catchments are wet and discharge is correspondingly higher, indicating an increase in the proportional contribution of faster flow paths at higher flows. We quantify this
discharge sensitivityof Fyw and relate it to the dominant streamflow-generating mechanisms.
Paolo Benettin, Till H. M. Volkmann, Jana von Freyberg, Jay Frentress, Daniele Penna, Todd E. Dawson, and James W. Kirchner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2881–2890, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2881-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2881-2018, 2018
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Evaporation causes the isotopic composition of soil water to become different from that of the original precipitation source. If multiple samples originating from the same source are available, they can be used to reconstruct the original source composition. However, soil water is influenced by seasonal variability in both precipitation sources and evaporation patterns. We show that this variability, if not accounted for, can lead to biased estimates of the precipitation source water.
Murugesu Sivapalan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1665–1693, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1665-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1665-2018, 2018
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The paper presents major milestones in the transformation of hydrologic science over the last 50 years from engineering hydrology to Earth system science. This transformation has involved a transition from a focus on time (empirical) to space (Newtonian mechanics), and to time (Darwinian co-evolution). Hydrology is now well positioned to again return to a focus on space or space–time and a move towards regional process hydrology.
Erik Tijdeman, Jamie Hannaford, and Kerstin Stahl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1051–1064, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1051-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1051-2018, 2018
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In this study, a screening approach was applied on a set of streamflow records for which various human influences are indicated to identify streamflow records that have drought characteristics that deviate from those expected under pristine conditions. Prolonged streamflow drought duration, a weaker correlation between streamflow and precipitation, and changes in streamflow drought occurrence over time were related to human influences such as groundwater abstractions or reservoir operations.
Ilaria Gnecco, Anna Palla, and Paolo La Barbera
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 943–956, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-943-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-943-2018, 2018
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The paper proposes a dimensionless framework to investigate the impact of the rainfall event structure on the runoff peak. A set of analytical expressions are derived from a constant hyetograph to assess the maximum runoff peak for a given event structure irrespective of the specific catchment. A catchment application is discussed to point out the dimensionless procedure implications and to provide some numerical examples of the rainfall structures with respect to observed rainfall events.
Liang Yu, Joachim Rozemeijer, Boris M. van Breukelen, Maarten Ouboter, Corné van der Vlugt, and Hans Peter Broers
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 487–508, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-487-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-487-2018, 2018
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The study shows the importance of the connection between groundwater and surface water nutrient chemistry in a lowland delta area – the greater Amsterdam area. We expect that taking account of groundwater–surface water interaction is also important in other subsiding and urbanising deltas around the world, where water is managed intensively in order to enable agricultural productivity and achieve water-sustainable cities.
David Zumr, Tomáš Dostál, Jan Devátý, Petr Valenta, Pavel Rosendorf, Alexander Eder, and Peter Strauss
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5681–5691, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5681-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5681-2017, 2017
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Intensively cultivated landscape is the main non-point source of eroded sediment. The soil particles, carrying bounded nutrients and pollutants, cause both environmental and economic problems downstream. We did several flooding experiments in a typical rural drainage channel to show how the eroded sediment behaves in the headwater streams during spring and summer. We conclude that the channel behaves as a sediment trap during summer. In spring the sediment moves quickly.
Nans Addor, Andrew J. Newman, Naoki Mizukami, and Martyn P. Clark
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5293–5313, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5293-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5293-2017, 2017
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We introduce a data set describing the landscape of 671 catchments in the contiguous USA: we synthesized various data sources to characterize the topography, climate, streamflow, land cover, soil, and geology of each catchment. This extends the daily time series of meteorological forcing and discharge provided by an earlier study. The diversity of these catchments will help to improve our understanding and modeling of how the interplay between catchment attributes shapes hydrological processes.
Catherine M. Heppell, Andrew Binley, Mark Trimmer, Tegan Darch, Ashley Jones, Ed Malone, Adrian L. Collins, Penny J. Johnes, Jim E. Freer, and Charlotte E. M. Lloyd
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4785–4802, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4785-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4785-2017, 2017
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The role that hydrology plays in controlling the interplay between dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen in rivers of lowland, agricultural landscapes is poorly understood, yet important to assess given the potential changes to production and delivery of DOC and nitrate arising from climate change. We measured DOC and nitrate concentrations in river water of the lowland river Hampshire Avon (Wiltshire, southern UK), revealing significant seasonal variations in DOC : nitrate transport.
Guangyao Gao, Jianjun Zhang, Yu Liu, Zheng Ning, Bojie Fu, and Murugesu Sivapalan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4363–4378, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4363-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4363-2017, 2017
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This study extracted spatio-temporal patterns in the effects of LUCC and precipitation variability on sediment yield across the Loess Plateau during 1961–2011. The impacts of precipitation on sediment yield declined with time and the precipitation-sediment relationship showed a coherent spatial pattern. The sediment coefficient, representing the effect of LUCC, decreases linearly with fraction of area treated with erosion control measures and the slopes were highly variable among the catchments.
Xiujie Wu, Xu-Sheng Wang, Yang Wang, and Bill X. Hu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4419–4431, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4419-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4419-2017, 2017
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It is critical to identify the origins of water in arid and semiarid regions for management and protection of the water resources. The D, 18O, 3H and 14C in water samples from the Badain Jaran Desert, China, were analyzed. The results show that groundwater supplies the lakes and originates from local precipitation and adjacent mountains. Negative d-excess values of water in the area were the result of evaporation. The 14C ages do not represent the residence time of local groundwater.
Blanka Gvoždíková and Miloslav Müller
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3715–3725, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3715-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3715-2017, 2017
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This paper addresses the evaluation of extreme floods in western/central Europe in terms of different index variants. The comparison of extreme floods' rankings is presented, as well as the main characteristics of temporal and spatial distributions of flood extremes. The results will be used for the assessment of related meteorological conditions. A comparison of major floods with precipitation and circulation extremes will be useful for a better understanding of the causes of extensive floods.
Laurie Caillouet, Jean-Philippe Vidal, Eric Sauquet, Alexandre Devers, and Benjamin Graff
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2923–2951, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2923-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2923-2017, 2017
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The historical depth of streamflow observations in France is extended through daily hydrometeorogical reconstructions from 1871 onwards over a large set of near-natural catchments. Innovative approaches are proposed to identify and intercompare extreme low-flow events from these reconstructions, both in time and across France in a homogeneous way over more than 140 years. Analyses bring forward recent well-known events like 1976 and 1989–1990 but also much older ones like 1878 and 1893.
Simon Paul Seibert, Conrad Jackisch, Uwe Ehret, Laurent Pfister, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2817–2841, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2817-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2817-2017, 2017
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Runoff production mechanisms and their corresponding physiographic controls continue to pose major research challenges in catchment hydrology. We propose innovative data-driven diagnostic signatures for overcoming the prevailing status quo in inter-comparison studies. Specifically, we present dimensionless double mass curves which allow us to infer information on runoff generation at the seasonal and annual timescales. The method is based on commonly available data.
Meine van Noordwijk, Lisa Tanika, and Betha Lusiana
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2321–2340, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2321-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2321-2017, 2017
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Deforestation is commonly understood to increase and reforestation to reduce flood risk, but scientific evidence at the relevant landscape scale is scarce and contested. A measure of day-to-day flow persistence is defined here. It is proposed as simple performance indicator for watershed health that can respond to changes in climate and land cover quality, quantity and spatial pattern. Data for four watersheds show decrease or increase in flow persistence in degradation and restoration phases.
Meine van Noordwijk, Lisa Tanika, and Betha Lusiana
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2341–2360, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2341-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2341-2017, 2017
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Deforestation is commonly understood to increase and reforestation to reduce flood risk, but scientific evidence at the relevant landscape scale is scarce and contested. A measure of day-to-day flow persistence is defined here. It is proposed as simple performance indicator for watershed health that can respond to changes in climate and land cover quality, quantity and spatial pattern. Data for four watersheds show decrease or increase in flow persistence in degradation and restoration phases.
Zhongwang Chen, Huimin Lei, Hanbo Yang, Dawen Yang, and Yongqiang Cao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2233–2248, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2233-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2233-2017, 2017
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The significant climate changes remind us to characterize the hydrological response to it. Based on the long-term observed hydrological and meteorological data in 291 catchments across China, we find a pattern of the response stating that
drier regions are more likely to become drier, whereas wetter regions are more likely to become wetter. We also reveal that the precipitation changes play the most significant role in this process.
Hoori Ajami, Ashish Sharma, Lawrence E. Band, Jason P. Evans, Narendra K. Tuteja, Gnanathikkam E. Amirthanathan, and Mohammed A. Bari
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 281–294, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-281-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-281-2017, 2017
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We present the first data-based framework for explaining why catchments behave in a non-stationary manner, even when they are unaffected by deforestation or urbanization. The role of vegetation dynamics in streamflow is indicated by similar or greater sensitivity of annual runoff ratio to annual fractional vegetation cover. We formulated a novel ecohydrologic catchment classification framework that incorporates the role of vegetation dynamics in catchment-scale water partitioning.
Daniele Penna, Michael Engel, Giacomo Bertoldi, and Francesco Comiti
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 23–41, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-23-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-23-2017, 2017
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In this research we used environmental tracers in the Saldur River catchment, Italian Alps to obtain new insight into the hydrology of glacierized catchments. We analysed the spatio-temporal variability of the tracer signature within the catchment, distinguished the contribution of groundwater, glacier melt and snowmelt to stream discharge, identified the sources of uncertainty in the estimation of streamflow components and presented a paradigm of hydrological function of glacierized catchments.
Riccardo Rigon, Marialaura Bancheri, and Timothy R. Green
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4929–4947, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4929-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4929-2016, 2016
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The goal of the paper is to analyze the theory of water age inside a catchment while accounting for multiple outflows. It tries to propose the material under a new perspective where it lines up concepts, cleans the notation, discusses some classical results, and offers some examples that help to relate the modern achievements to the theory of the IUH, clarifying assets of both of them. In doing all of this, it also produces various new results, and some regarding solute transport.
Remko Nijzink, Christopher Hutton, Ilias Pechlivanidis, René Capell, Berit Arheimer, Jim Freer, Dawei Han, Thorsten Wagener, Kevin McGuire, Hubert Savenije, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 4775–4799, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4775-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-4775-2016, 2016
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The core component of many hydrological systems, the moisture storage capacity available to vegetation, is typically treated as a calibration parameter in hydrological models and often considered to remain constant in time. In this paper we test the potential of a recently introduced method to robustly estimate catchment-scale root-zone storage capacities exclusively based on climate data to reproduce the temporal evolution of root-zone storage under change (deforestation).
Benjamin Müller, Matthias Bernhardt, Conrad Jackisch, and Karsten Schulz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3765–3775, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3765-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3765-2016, 2016
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A technology for the spatial derivation of soil texture classes is presented. Information about soil texture is key for predicting the local and regional hydrological cycle. It is needed for the calculation of soil water movement, the share of surface runoff, the evapotranspiration rate and others. Nevertheless, the derivation of soil texture classes is expensive and time-consuming. The presented technique uses soil samples and remotely sensed data for estimating their spatial distribution.
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