Articles | Volume 21, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4649-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4649-2017
Technical note
 | 
14 Sep 2017
Technical note |  | 14 Sep 2017

Technical note: Cascade of submerged reservoirs as a rainfall–runoff model

Jacek Kurnatowski

Abstract. The rainfall–runoff conceptual model as a cascade of submerged linear reservoirs with particular outflows depending on storages of adjoining reservoirs is developed. The model output contains different exponential functions with roots of Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind as exponents. The model is applied to instantaneous unit hydrograph (IUH) and recession curve problems and compared with the analogous results of the Nash cascade. A case study is performed on a basis of 46 recession periods. Obtained results show the usefulness of the model as an alternative concept to the Nash cascade.

Download
Short summary
The research deals with the problem how rainfall affects flow in a catchment. Until the present, one of the most popular solutions is to imagine the catchment as a cascade of tanks where the outflow from any tank is the supply to the next one. This idea is modified in the paper and the cascade is shown as a sequence of submerged tanks where each tank can be supplied from both sides. Performed tests show that in some cases this concept may be better than the classical cascade.