Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
HESS
Articles | Volume 20, issue 1
Articles | Volume 20, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-479-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-479-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 20, issue 1
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
28 Jan 2016
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 28 Jan 2016

Does the Budyko curve reflect a maximum-power state of hydrological systems? A backward analysis

M. Westhoff, E. Zehe, P. Archambeau, and B. Dewals

Viewed

Total article views: 6,852 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total Supplement BibTeX EndNote
5,283 1,361 208 6,852 551 166 175
  • HTML: 5,283
  • PDF: 1,361
  • XML: 208
  • Total: 6,852
  • Supplement: 551
  • BibTeX: 166
  • EndNote: 175
Views and downloads (calculated since 11 Aug 2015)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 11 Aug 2015)

Cited

Saved (final revised paper)

Saved (preprint)

Discussed (final revised paper)

Latest update: 02 Apr 2025
Download

The requested paper has a corresponding corrigendum published. Please read the corrigendum first before downloading the article.

Short summary
We derived mathematical formulations of relations between relative wetness and gradients driving run-off and evaporation for a one-box model such that, when conductances are optimized with the maximum power principle, the model leads exactly to a point on the Budyko curve. With dry spells and dynamics in actual evaporation added, the model compared well with catchment observations without calibrating any parameter. The maximum-power principle may thus be used to derive the Budyko curve.
Read more
Share
Special issue
Catchment co-evolution: space–time patterns and functional...