Articles | Volume 25, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2327-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2327-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
29 Apr 2021
Research article |
| 29 Apr 2021
| 29 Apr 2021
Event and seasonal hydrologic connectivity patterns in an agricultural headwater catchment
Centre for Water Resource Systems, Vienna University of Technology,
Vienna, Austria
Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management,
Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria
Borbála Széles
Centre for Water Resource Systems, Vienna University of Technology,
Vienna, Austria
Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management,
Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria
Peter Strauss
Federal Agency of Water Management, Institute for Land and Water
Management Research, Petzenkirchen, Austria
Alfred Paul Blaschke
Centre for Water Resource Systems, Vienna University of Technology,
Vienna, Austria
Interuniversity Cooperation Centre Water & Health, Vienna, Austria
Günter Blöschl
Centre for Water Resource Systems, Vienna University of Technology,
Vienna, Austria
Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management,
Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria
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Christopher Thoma, Borbala Szeles, Miriam Bertola, Elmar Schmaltz, Carmen Krammer, Peter Strauss, and Günter Blöschl
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2541, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2541, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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We studied how farming practices affect soil and sediment movement in a small Austrian catchment. By monitoring water and sediment during 55 rain events, we found that erosion control worked well in flat fields near the stream, but not in steep or distant fields. Our results show that reducing soil loss requires strategies that consider slope, distance to streams, and how water flows through the landscape.
Paolo Nasta, Günter Blöschl, Heye R. Bogena, Steffen Zacharias, Roland Baatz, Gabriëlle De Lannoy, Karsten H. Jensen, Salvatore Manfreda, Laurent Pfister, Ana M. Tarquis, Ilja van Meerveld, Marc Voltz, Yijian Zeng, William Kustas, Xin Li, Harry Vereecken, and Nunzio Romano
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 465–483, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-465-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-465-2025, 2025
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The Unsolved Problems in Hydrology (UPH) initiative has emphasized the need to establish networks of multi-decadal hydrological observatories to tackle catchment-scale challenges on a global scale. This opinion paper provocatively discusses two endmembers of possible future hydrological observatory (HO) networks for a given hypothesized community budget: a comprehensive set of moderately instrumented observatories or, alternatively, a small number of highly instrumented supersites.
Hatice Türk, Christine Stumpp, Markus Hrachowitz, Karsten Schulz, Peter Strauss, Günter Blöschl, and Michael Stockinger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-359, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-359, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
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Using advances in transit time estimation and tracer data, we tested if fast-flow transit times are controlled solely by soil moisture or are also controlled by precipitation intensity. We used soil moisture-dependent and precipitation intensity-conditional transfer functions. We showed that significant portion of event water bypasses the soil matrix through fast flow paths (overland flow, tile drains, preferential flow paths) in dry soil conditions for both low and high-intensity precipitation.
Bruno Merz, Günter Blöschl, Robert Jüpner, Heidi Kreibich, Kai Schröter, and Sergiy Vorogushyn
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4015–4030, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-4015-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-4015-2024, 2024
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Flood risk assessments help us decide how to reduce the risk of flooding. Since these assessments are based on probabilities, it is hard to check their accuracy by comparing them to past data. We suggest a new way to validate these assessments, making sure they are practical for real-life decisions. This approach looks at both the technical details and the real-world situations where decisions are made. We demonstrate its practicality by applying it to flood emergency planning.
Günter Blöschl, Andreas Buttinger-Kreuzhuber, Daniel Cornel, Julia Eisl, Michael Hofer, Markus Hollaus, Zsolt Horváth, Jürgen Komma, Artem Konev, Juraj Parajka, Norbert Pfeifer, Andreas Reithofer, José Salinas, Peter Valent, Roman Výleta, Jürgen Waser, Michael H. Wimmer, and Heinz Stiefelmeyer
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2071–2091, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2071-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2071-2024, 2024
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A methodology of regional flood hazard mapping is proposed, based on data in Austria, which combines automatic methods with manual interventions to maximise efficiency and to obtain estimation accuracy similar to that of local studies. Flood discharge records from 781 stations are used to estimate flood hazard patterns of a given return period at a resolution of 2 m over a total stream length of 38 000 km. The hazard maps are used for civil protection, risk awareness and insurance purposes.
Alberto Montanari, Bruno Merz, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2603–2615, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2603-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2603-2024, 2024
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Floods often take communities by surprise, as they are often considered virtually
impossibleyet are an ever-present threat similar to the sword suspended over the head of Damocles in the classical Greek anecdote. We discuss four reasons why extremely large floods carry a risk that is often larger than expected. We provide suggestions for managing the risk of megafloods by calling for a creative exploration of hazard scenarios and communicating the unknown corners of the reality of floods.
David Ramler and Peter Strauss
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1745–1754, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1745-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1745-2023, 2023
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Undisturbed soil monoliths combine advantages of outdoor and indoor experiments; however, there are often size limitations. A promising approach is the combination of smaller blocks to form a single large monolith. We compared the runoff properties of monoliths cut in half and recombined with uncut blocks. The effect of the combination procedure was negligible compared to the inherent soil heterogeneity, and we conclude that advantages outweigh possible adverse effects.
Mohammad Ghoreishi, Amin Elshorbagy, Saman Razavi, Günter Blöschl, Murugesu Sivapalan, and Ahmed Abdelkader
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1201–1219, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1201-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1201-2023, 2023
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The study proposes a quantitative model of the willingness to cooperate in the Eastern Nile River basin. Our results suggest that the 2008 food crisis may account for Sudan recovering its willingness to cooperate with Ethiopia. Long-term lack of trust among the riparian countries may have reduced basin-wide cooperation. The model can be used to explore the effects of changes in future dam operations and other management decisions on the emergence of basin cooperation.
Enrico Bonanno, Günter Blöschl, and Julian Klaus
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6003–6028, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6003-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6003-2022, 2022
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There is an unclear understanding of which processes regulate the transport of water, solutes, and pollutants in streams. This is crucial since these processes control water quality in river networks. Compared to other approaches, we obtained clearer insights into the processes controlling solute transport in the investigated reach. This work highlights the risks of using uncertain results for interpreting the processes controlling water movement in streams.
Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5015–5033, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5015-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5015-2022, 2022
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There is serious concern that river floods are increasing. Starting from explanations discussed in public, the article addresses three hypotheses: land-use change, hydraulic structures, and climate change increase floods. This review finds that all three changes have the potential to not only increase floods, but also to reduce them. It is crucial to consider all three factors of change in flood risk management and communicate them to the general public in a nuanced way.
Shengping Wang, Borbala Szeles, Carmen Krammer, Elmar Schmaltz, Kepeng Song, Yifan Li, Zhiqiang Zhang, Günter Blöschl, and Peter Strauss
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3021–3036, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3021-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3021-2022, 2022
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This study explored the quantitative contribution of agricultural intensification and climate change to the sediment load of a small agricultural watershed. Rather than a change in climatic conditions, changes in the land structure notably altered sediment concentrations under high-flow conditions, thereby contributing most to the increase in annual sediment loads. More consideration of land structure improvement is required when combating the transfer of soil from land to water.
Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2469–2480, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2469-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2469-2022, 2022
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Sound understanding of how floods come about allows for the development of more reliable flood management tools that assist in mitigating their negative impacts. This article reviews river flood generation processes and flow paths across space scales, starting from water movement in the soil pores and moving up to hillslopes, catchments, regions and entire continents. To assist model development, there is a need to learn from observed patterns of flood generation processes at all spatial scales.
Rui Tong, Juraj Parajka, Borbála Széles, Isabella Greimeister-Pfeil, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jürgen Komma, Peter Valent, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1779–1799, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1779-2022, 2022
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The role and impact of using additional data (other than runoff) for the prediction of daily hydrographs in ungauged basins are not well understood. In this study, we assessed the model performance in terms of runoff, soil moisture, and snow cover predictions with the existing regionalization approaches. Results show that the best transfer methods are the similarity and the kriging approaches. The performance of the transfer methods differs between lowland and alpine catchments.
Wouter Dorigo, Irene Himmelbauer, Daniel Aberer, Lukas Schremmer, Ivana Petrakovic, Luca Zappa, Wolfgang Preimesberger, Angelika Xaver, Frank Annor, Jonas Ardö, Dennis Baldocchi, Marco Bitelli, Günter Blöschl, Heye Bogena, Luca Brocca, Jean-Christophe Calvet, J. Julio Camarero, Giorgio Capello, Minha Choi, Michael C. Cosh, Nick van de Giesen, Istvan Hajdu, Jaakko Ikonen, Karsten H. Jensen, Kasturi Devi Kanniah, Ileen de Kat, Gottfried Kirchengast, Pankaj Kumar Rai, Jenni Kyrouac, Kristine Larson, Suxia Liu, Alexander Loew, Mahta Moghaddam, José Martínez Fernández, Cristian Mattar Bader, Renato Morbidelli, Jan P. Musial, Elise Osenga, Michael A. Palecki, Thierry Pellarin, George P. Petropoulos, Isabella Pfeil, Jarrett Powers, Alan Robock, Christoph Rüdiger, Udo Rummel, Michael Strobel, Zhongbo Su, Ryan Sullivan, Torbern Tagesson, Andrej Varlagin, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jeffrey Walker, Jun Wen, Fred Wenger, Jean Pierre Wigneron, Mel Woods, Kun Yang, Yijian Zeng, Xiang Zhang, Marek Zreda, Stephan Dietrich, Alexander Gruber, Peter van Oevelen, Wolfgang Wagner, Klaus Scipal, Matthias Drusch, and Roberto Sabia
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5749–5804, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, 2021
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The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) is a community-based open-access data portal for soil water measurements taken at the ground and is accessible at https://ismn.earth. Over 1000 scientific publications and thousands of users have made use of the ISMN. The scope of this paper is to inform readers about the data and functionality of the ISMN and to provide a review of the scientific progress facilitated through the ISMN with the scope to shape future research and operations.
David Lun, Alberto Viglione, Miriam Bertola, Jürgen Komma, Juraj Parajka, Peter Valent, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5535–5560, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5535-2021, 2021
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We investigate statistical properties of observed flood series on a European scale. There are pronounced regional patterns, for instance: regions with strong Atlantic influence show less year-to-year variability in the magnitude of observed floods when compared with more arid regions of Europe. The hydrological controls on the patterns are quantified and discussed. On the European scale, climate seems to be the dominant driver for the observed patterns.
Concetta Di Mauro, Renaud Hostache, Patrick Matgen, Ramona Pelich, Marco Chini, Peter Jan van Leeuwen, Nancy K. Nichols, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4081–4097, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4081-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4081-2021, 2021
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This study evaluates how the sequential assimilation of flood extent derived from synthetic aperture radar data can help improve flood forecasting. In particular, we carried out twin experiments based on a synthetically generated dataset with controlled uncertainty. Our empirical results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed data assimilation framework, as forecasting errors are substantially reduced as a result of the assimilation.
Rui Tong, Juraj Parajka, Andreas Salentinig, Isabella Pfeil, Jürgen Komma, Borbála Széles, Martin Kubáň, Peter Valent, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Wolfgang Wagner, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1389–1410, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1389-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1389-2021, 2021
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We used a new and experimental version of the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) soil water index data set and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) C6 snow cover products for multiple objective calibrations of the TUWmodel in 213 catchments of Austria. Combined calibration to runoff, satellite soil moisture, and snow cover improves runoff (40 % catchments), soil moisture (80 % catchments), and snow (~ 100 % catchments) simulation compared to traditional calibration to runoff only.
Miriam Bertola, Alberto Viglione, Sergiy Vorogushyn, David Lun, Bruno Merz, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1347–1364, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1347-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1347-2021, 2021
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We estimate the contribution of extreme precipitation, antecedent soil moisture and snowmelt to changes in small and large floods across Europe.
In northwestern and eastern Europe, changes in small and large floods are driven mainly by one single driver (i.e. extreme precipitation and snowmelt, respectively). In southern Europe both antecedent soil moisture and extreme precipitation significantly contribute to flood changes, and their relative importance depends on flood magnitude.
Maral Khodadadi, Christine Alewell, Mohammad Mirzaei, Ehssan Ehssan-Malahat, Farrokh Asadzadeh, Peter Strauss, and Katrin Meusburger
SOIL Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2021-2, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2021-2, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Forest soils store carbon and therefore play an important role in mitigating climate change impacts. Yet again, deforestation for farming and grazing purposes has grown rapidly over the last decades. Thus, its impacts on soil erosion and soil quality should be understood in order to adopt sustainable management measures. The results of this study indicated that deforestation can prompt soil loss by multiple orders of magnitude and deteriorate the soil quality in both topsoil and subsoil.
Doris Duethmann, Günter Blöschl, and Juraj Parajka
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 3493–3511, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3493-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3493-2020, 2020
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We investigate why a conceptual hydrological model failed to correctly predict observed discharge changes in response to increasing precipitation and air temperature in 156 Austrian catchments. Simulations indicate that poor model performance is related to two problems, namely a model structure that neglects changes in vegetation dynamics and inhomogeneities in precipitation data caused by changes in stations density with time. Other hypotheses did not improve simulated discharge changes.
Miriam Bertola, Alberto Viglione, David Lun, Julia Hall, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1805–1822, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1805-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1805-2020, 2020
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We investigate changes that occurred in small vs. big flood events and in small vs. large catchments across Europe over 5 decades. Annual maximum discharge series between 1960 and 2010 from 2370 gauges in Europe are analysed. Distinctive patterns of flood regime change are identified for large regions across Europe, which depend on flood magnitude and catchment size.
Alexandra Tiefenbacher, Gabriele Weigelhofer, Andreas Klik, Matthias Pucher, Jakob Santner, Walter Wenzel, Alexander Eder, and Peter Strauss
SOIL Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2019-97, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2019-97, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Nevil Quinn, Günter Blöschl, András Bárdossy, Attilio Castellarin, Martyn Clark, Christophe Cudennec, Demetris Koutsoyiannis, Upmanu Lall, Lubomir Lichner, Juraj Parajka, Christa D. Peters-Lidard, Graham Sander, Hubert Savenije, Keith Smettem, Harry Vereecken, Alberto Viglione, Patrick Willems, Andy Wood, Ross Woods, Chong-Yu Xu, and Erwin Zehe
Proc. IAHS, 380, 3–8, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-380-3-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-380-3-2018, 2018
Christian Reszler, Jürgen Komma, Hermann Stadler, Elmar Strobl, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 6147–6161, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6147-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6147-2018, 2018
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Karst aquifers are vulnerable to pollution due to the typically short particle travel times. As the rainwater runs off on the surface it may collect contamination before infiltrating. This paper proposes a new field-mapping method for the ability of the landscape to produce and convey surface runoff. The method is based on local data collection in the field, and a visual assessment of surface runoff traces from a distance, which makes it suitable for larger areas than traditional field mapping.
Nevil Quinn, Günter Blöschl, András Bárdossy, Attilio Castellarin, Martyn Clark, Christophe Cudennec, Demetris Koutsoyiannis, Upmanu Lall, Lubomir Lichner, Juraj Parajka, Christa D. Peters-Lidard, Graham Sander, Hubert Savenije, Keith Smettem, Harry Vereecken, Alberto Viglione, Patrick Willems, Andy Wood, Ross Woods, Chong-Yu Xu, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5735–5739, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5735-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5735-2018, 2018
Doris Duethmann and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5143–5158, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5143-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5143-2018, 2018
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We analyze changes in catchment evaporation estimated from the water balances of 156 catchments in Austria over 1977–2014, as well as the possible causes of these changes. Our results show that catchment evaporation increased on average by 29 ± 14 mm yr−1 decade−1. We attribute this increase to changes in atmospheric demand (based on reference and pan evaporation), changes in vegetation (quantified by a satellite-based vegetation index), and changes in precipitation.
Alessio Pugliese, Simone Persiano, Stefano Bagli, Paolo Mazzoli, Juraj Parajka, Berit Arheimer, René Capell, Alberto Montanari, Günter Blöschl, and Attilio Castellarin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4633–4648, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4633-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4633-2018, 2018
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This research work focuses on the development of an innovative method for enhancing the predictive capability of macro-scale rainfall–runoff models by means of a geostatistical apporach. In our method, one can get enhanced streamflow simulations without any further model calibration. Indeed, this method is neither computational nor data-intensive and is implemented only using observed streamflow data and a GIS vector layer with catchment boundaries. Assessments are performed in the Tyrol region.
Julia Hall and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3883–3901, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3883-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3883-2018, 2018
Mehdi Rahmati, Lutz Weihermüller, Jan Vanderborght, Yakov A. Pachepsky, Lili Mao, Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi, Niloofar Moosavi, Hossein Kheirfam, Carsten Montzka, Kris Van Looy, Brigitta Toth, Zeinab Hazbavi, Wafa Al Yamani, Ammar A. Albalasmeh, Ma'in Z. Alghzawi, Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo, Antônio Celso Dantas Antonino, George Arampatzis, Robson André Armindo, Hossein Asadi, Yazidhi Bamutaze, Jordi Batlle-Aguilar, Béatrice Béchet, Fabian Becker, Günter Blöschl, Klaus Bohne, Isabelle Braud, Clara Castellano, Artemi Cerdà, Maha Chalhoub, Rogerio Cichota, Milena Císlerová, Brent Clothier, Yves Coquet, Wim Cornelis, Corrado Corradini, Artur Paiva Coutinho, Muriel Bastista de Oliveira, José Ronaldo de Macedo, Matheus Fonseca Durães, Hojat Emami, Iraj Eskandari, Asghar Farajnia, Alessia Flammini, Nándor Fodor, Mamoun Gharaibeh, Mohamad Hossein Ghavimipanah, Teamrat A. Ghezzehei, Simone Giertz, Evangelos G. Hatzigiannakis, Rainer Horn, Juan José Jiménez, Diederik Jacques, Saskia Deborah Keesstra, Hamid Kelishadi, Mahboobeh Kiani-Harchegani, Mehdi Kouselou, Madan Kumar Jha, Laurent Lassabatere, Xiaoyan Li, Mark A. Liebig, Lubomír Lichner, María Victoria López, Deepesh Machiwal, Dirk Mallants, Micael Stolben Mallmann, Jean Dalmo de Oliveira Marques, Miles R. Marshall, Jan Mertens, Félicien Meunier, Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi, Binayak P. Mohanty, Mansonia Pulido-Moncada, Suzana Montenegro, Renato Morbidelli, David Moret-Fernández, Ali Akbar Moosavi, Mohammad Reza Mosaddeghi, Seyed Bahman Mousavi, Hasan Mozaffari, Kamal Nabiollahi, Mohammad Reza Neyshabouri, Marta Vasconcelos Ottoni, Theophilo Benedicto Ottoni Filho, Mohammad Reza Pahlavan-Rad, Andreas Panagopoulos, Stephan Peth, Pierre-Emmanuel Peyneau, Tommaso Picciafuoco, Jean Poesen, Manuel Pulido, Dalvan José Reinert, Sabine Reinsch, Meisam Rezaei, Francis Parry Roberts, David Robinson, Jesús Rodrigo-Comino, Otto Corrêa Rotunno Filho, Tadaomi Saito, Hideki Suganuma, Carla Saltalippi, Renáta Sándor, Brigitta Schütt, Manuel Seeger, Nasrollah Sepehrnia, Ehsan Sharifi Moghaddam, Manoj Shukla, Shiraki Shutaro, Ricardo Sorando, Ajayi Asishana Stanley, Peter Strauss, Zhongbo Su, Ruhollah Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, Encarnación Taguas, Wenceslau Geraldes Teixeira, Ali Reza Vaezi, Mehdi Vafakhah, Tomas Vogel, Iris Vogeler, Jana Votrubova, Steffen Werner, Thierry Winarski, Deniz Yilmaz, Michael H. Young, Steffen Zacharias, Yijian Zeng, Ying Zhao, Hong Zhao, and Harry Vereecken
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1237–1263, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1237-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1237-2018, 2018
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This paper presents and analyzes a global database of soil infiltration data, the SWIG database, for the first time. In total, 5023 infiltration curves were collected across all continents in the SWIG database. These data were either provided and quality checked by the scientists or they were digitized from published articles. We are convinced that the SWIG database will allow for a better parameterization of the infiltration process in land surface models and for testing infiltration models.
Marlies Holkje Barendrecht, Alberto Viglione, Heidi Kreibich, Sergiy Vorogushyn, Bruno Merz, and Günter Blöschl
Proc. IAHS, 379, 193–198, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-379-193-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-379-193-2018, 2018
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The aim of this paper is to assess whether a Socio-Hydrological model can be calibrated to data artificially generated from it. This is not trivial because the model is highly nonlinear and it is not clear what amount of data would be needed for calibration. We demonstrate that, using Bayesian inference, the parameters of the model can be estimated quite accurately from relatively few data, which could be available in real case studies.
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.
Gregor Laaha, Juraj Parajka, Alberto Viglione, Daniel Koffler, Klaus Haslinger, Wolfgang Schöner, Judith Zehetgruber, and Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3967–3985, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3967-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3967-2016, 2016
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We present a framework for assessing climate impacts on future low flows that combines different sources of information termed pillars. To illustrate the framework, three pillars are chosen: low-flow observation, climate observations and climate projections. By combining different sources of information we aim at more robust projections than obtained from each pillar alone. The viability of the framework is illustrated for four example catchments from Austria.
Juraj Parajka, Alfred Paul Blaschke, Günter Blöschl, Klaus Haslinger, Gerold Hepp, Gregor Laaha, Wolfgang Schöner, Helene Trautvetter, Alberto Viglione, and Matthias Zessner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 2085–2101, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2085-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2085-2016, 2016
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Streamflow estimation during low-flow conditions is important for estimation of environmental flows, effluent water quality, hydropower operations, etc. However, it is not clear how the uncertainties in assumptions used in the projections translate into uncertainty of estimated future low flows. The objective of the study is to explore the relative role of hydrologic model calibration and climate scenarios in the uncertainty of low-flow projections in Austria.
Günter Blöschl
Proc. IAHS, 373, 57–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-373-57-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-373-57-2016, 2016
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The spatial dimensions of water management heavily rely on accurate hydrological estimates in the landscape. This has been the focus of the Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB) initiative of the IAHS. The initiative has significantly advanced the science by furthering process understanding and estimation methods, and by synthesising the knowledge across processes, places and scales. Ongoing research on PUB is increasingly accounts for the feedbacks between humans and water in the landscape.
Ján Szolgay, Ladislav Gaál, Tomáš Bacigál, Silvia Kohnová, Kamila Hlavčová, Roman Výleta, and Günter Blöschl
Proc. IAHS, 373, 61–67, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-373-61-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-373-61-2016, 2016
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The design of hydraulic structures where storage is involved, requires estimates of joint probability distribution of flood volumes and flood peaks. The problem of choosing a joint distribution was so far approached more from a statistical point of view. In the paper the suitability of various copula models of this relationships was analysed with a particular focus on the type and seasonality of flood generation processes in a regional context.
Serena Ceola, Alberto Montanari, Juraj Parajka, Alberto Viglione, Günter Blöschl, and Francesco Laio
Proc. IAHS, 373, 131–136, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-373-131-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-373-131-2016, 2016
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This paper analyses the evolution in space and time of human presence in terms of settlements and associated economic activities along the Eastern Alpine river network in Austria and Italy by using high-resolution satellite images. To this aim, nocturnal artificial luminosity images and the geographical location of streams and rivers are employed. Our results reveal a significant increase of nighttime lights, and thus of human presence.
Demetris Koutsoyiannis, Günter Blöschl, András Bárdossy, Christophe Cudennec, Denis Hughes, Alberto Montanari, Insa Neuweiler, and Hubert Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 1081–1084, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1081-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1081-2016, 2016
G. Blöschl, A. P. Blaschke, M. Broer, C. Bucher, G. Carr, X. Chen, A. Eder, M. Exner-Kittridge, A. Farnleitner, A. Flores-Orozco, P. Haas, P. Hogan, A. Kazemi Amiri, M. Oismüller, J. Parajka, R. Silasari, P. Stadler, P. Strauss, M. Vreugdenhil, W. Wagner, and M. Zessner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 227–255, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-227-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-227-2016, 2016
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This paper illustrates the experimental and monitoring set-up of the 66 ha Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) in Petzenkirchen, Lower Austria, which allows meaningful hypothesis testing. The HOAL catchment features a range of different runoff generation processes (surface runoff, springs, tile drains, wetlands), and is convenient from a logistic point of view as all instruments can be connected to the power grid and a high-speed glassfibre local area network.
R. A. P. Perdigão and G. Blöschl
Proc. IAHS, 370, 125–130, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-370-125-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-370-125-2015, 2015
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Flood regimes are behavioural patterns in floods across a wide variety of events under diverse circumstances. Our goal is to provide a unifying framework to address those regimes, how and why they change in space and time. For that purpose, we introduce a general model of flood regime dynamics under interacting natural factors and validate it with observations spanning a great diversity of hydrological settings. The model ultimately brings better flood understanding and forecasting abilities.
J. Hall, B. Arheimer, G. T. Aronica, A. Bilibashi, M. Boháč, O. Bonacci, M. Borga, P. Burlando, A. Castellarin, G. B. Chirico, P. Claps, K. Fiala, L. Gaál, L. Gorbachova, A. Gül, J. Hannaford, A. Kiss, T. Kjeldsen, S. Kohnová, J. J. Koskela, N. Macdonald, M. Mavrova-Guirguinova, O. Ledvinka, L. Mediero, B. Merz, R. Merz, P. Molnar, A. Montanari, M. Osuch, J. Parajka, R. A. P. Perdigão, I. Radevski, B. Renard, M. Rogger, J. L. Salinas, E. Sauquet, M. Šraj, J. Szolgay, A. Viglione, E. Volpi, D. Wilson, K. Zaimi, and G. Blöschl
Proc. IAHS, 370, 89–95, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-370-89-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-370-89-2015, 2015
J. Szolgay, L. Gaál, S. Kohnová, K. Hlavčová, R. Výleta, T. Bacigál, and G. Blöschl
Proc. IAHS, 370, 183–188, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-370-183-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-370-183-2015, 2015
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The design of hydraulic structures where storage is involved, requires estimates of flood volumes related to flood peaks. The problem was so far approached more from a statistical point of view. In the paper it was attempted to better understand the hydrological factors controlling this relationship. The suitability of various copula models of the relationships between flood peaks and flood volumes was analysed with a particular focus on the type and seasonality of flood generation processes.
J. Grames, A. Prskawetz, D. Grass, and G. Blöschl
Proc. IAHS, 369, 3–6, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-369-3-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-369-3-2015, 2015
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Communities live close to rivers and therefore are confronted with the risk of flooding. It is important to understand the drivers and mechanisms of the consumption and investment behavior of these societies in order to identify an optimal investment strategy into flood defense capital. To solve such an economic optimization model we develop a periodic water function to approximate the former discrete stochastic time series of rainfall events and apply it to an existing socio-hydrology model.
S. Ceola, B. Arheimer, E. Baratti, G. Blöschl, R. Capell, A. Castellarin, J. Freer, D. Han, M. Hrachowitz, Y. Hundecha, C. Hutton, G. Lindström, A. Montanari, R. Nijzink, J. Parajka, E. Toth, A. Viglione, and T. Wagener
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2101–2117, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2101-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2101-2015, 2015
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We present the outcomes of a collaborative hydrological experiment undertaken by five different international research groups in a virtual laboratory. Moving from the definition of accurate protocols, a rainfall-runoff model was independently applied by the research groups, which then engaged in a comparative discussion. The results revealed that sharing protocols and running the experiment within a controlled environment is fundamental for ensuring experiment repeatability and reproducibility.
Z. H. He, J. Parajka, F. Q. Tian, and G. Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4773–4789, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4773-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4773-2014, 2014
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In this paper, we propose a new method for estimating the snowmelt degree-day factor (DDFS) directly from MODIS snow covered area (SCA) and ground-based snow depth data without calibration. Snow density is estimated as the ratio between observed precipitation and changes in the snow volume for days with snow accumulation. DDFS values are estimated as the ratio between changes in the snow water equivalent and difference between the daily temperature and a threshold value for days with snowmelt.
J. Hall, B. Arheimer, M. Borga, R. Brázdil, P. Claps, A. Kiss, T. R. Kjeldsen, J. Kriaučiūnienė, Z. W. Kundzewicz, M. Lang, M. C. Llasat, N. Macdonald, N. McIntyre, L. Mediero, B. Merz, R. Merz, P. Molnar, A. Montanari, C. Neuhold, J. Parajka, R. A. P. Perdigão, L. Plavcová, M. Rogger, J. L. Salinas, E. Sauquet, C. Schär, J. Szolgay, A. Viglione, and G. Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2735–2772, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2735-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2735-2014, 2014
B. Merz, J. Aerts, K. Arnbjerg-Nielsen, M. Baldi, A. Becker, A. Bichet, G. Blöschl, L. M. Bouwer, A. Brauer, F. Cioffi, J. M. Delgado, M. Gocht, F. Guzzetti, S. Harrigan, K. Hirschboeck, C. Kilsby, W. Kron, H.-H. Kwon, U. Lall, R. Merz, K. Nissen, P. Salvatti, T. Swierczynski, U. Ulbrich, A. Viglione, P. J. Ward, M. Weiler, B. Wilhelm, and M. Nied
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 1921–1942, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-1921-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-1921-2014, 2014
G. Blöschl, A. Bárdossy, D. Koutsoyiannis, Z. W. Kundzewicz, I. Littlewood, A. Montanari, and H. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2433–2435, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2433-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2433-2014, 2014
H. M. Holländer, H. Bormann, T. Blume, W. Buytaert, G. B. Chirico, J.-F. Exbrayat, D. Gustafsson, H. Hölzel, T. Krauße, P. Kraft, S. Stoll, G. Blöschl, and H. Flühler
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2065–2085, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2065-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2065-2014, 2014
A. Eder, M. Exner-Kittridge, P. Strauss, and G. Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 1043–1052, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1043-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1043-2014, 2014
U. Ehret, H. V. Gupta, M. Sivapalan, S. V. Weijs, S. J. Schymanski, G. Blöschl, A. N. Gelfan, C. Harman, A. Kleidon, T. A. Bogaard, D. Wang, T. Wagener, U. Scherer, E. Zehe, M. F. P. Bierkens, G. Di Baldassarre, J. Parajka, L. P. H. van Beek, A. van Griensven, M. C. Westhoff, and H. C. Winsemius
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 649–671, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-649-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-649-2014, 2014
H. V. Gupta, C. Perrin, G. Blöschl, A. Montanari, R. Kumar, M. Clark, and V. Andréassian
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 463–477, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-463-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-463-2014, 2014
G. Blöschl, T. Nester, J. Komma, J. Parajka, and R. A. P. Perdigão
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 5197–5212, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-5197-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-5197-2013, 2013
S. E. Thompson, M. Sivapalan, C. J. Harman, V. Srinivasan, M. R. Hipsey, P. Reed, A. Montanari, and G. Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 5013–5039, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-5013-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-5013-2013, 2013
G. Di Baldassarre, A. Viglione, G. Carr, L. Kuil, J. L. Salinas, and G. Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 3295–3303, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-3295-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-3295-2013, 2013
J. L. Salinas, G. Laaha, M. Rogger, J. Parajka, A. Viglione, M. Sivapalan, and G. Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 2637–2652, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2637-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2637-2013, 2013
A. Viglione, J. Parajka, M. Rogger, J. L. Salinas, G. Laaha, M. Sivapalan, and G. Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 2263–2279, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2263-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2263-2013, 2013
J. Parajka, A. Viglione, M. Rogger, J. L. Salinas, M. Sivapalan, and G. Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1783–1795, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1783-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1783-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Catchment hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Theory development
The role of catchment characteristics, discharge, and active- layer thaw in seasonal stream chemistry across 10 permafrost catchments
Delayed stormflow generation in a semi-humid forested watershed controlled by soil water storage and groundwater dynamics
HESS Opinions: Floods and droughts – are land use, soil management, and landscape hydrology more significant drivers than increasing CO2?
Causal relationships of vegetation productivity with root zone water availability and atmospheric dryness at the catchment scale
Annual memory in the terrestrial water cycle
Can system dynamics explain long-term hydrological behaviors? The role of endogenous linking structure
Catchment hydrological response and transport are affected differently by precipitation intensity and antecedent wetness
Characterizing nonlinear, nonstationary, and heterogeneous hydrologic behavior using ensemble rainfall–runoff analysis (ERRA): proof of concept
Ratio limits of water storage and outflow in a rainfall–runoff process
Technical Note: The divide and measure nonconformity – how metrics can mislead when we evaluate on different data partitions
Bimodal hydrographs in a semi-humid forested watershed: characteristics and occurrence conditions
Flood drivers and trends: a case study of the Geul River catchment (the Netherlands) over the past half century
Power law between the apparent drainage density and the pruning area
Stream water sourcing from high-elevation snowpack inferred from stable isotopes of water: a novel application of d-excess values
Elasticity curves describe streamflow sensitivity to precipitation across the entire flow distribution
Seasonal and interannual dissolved organic carbon transport process dynamics in a subarctic headwater catchment revealed by high-resolution measurements
Links between seasonal suprapermafrost groundwater, the hydrothermal change of the active layer, and river runoff in alpine permafrost watersheds
Technical note: Isotopic fractionation of evaporating waters: effect of sub-daily atmospheric variations and eventual depletion of heavy isotopes
Increased nonstationarity of stormflow threshold behaviors in a forested watershed due to abrupt earthquake disturbance
HESS Opinions: Are soils overrated in hydrology?
Hydrologic implications of projected changes in rain-on-snow melt for Great Lakes Basin watersheds
A hydrological framework for persistent pools along non-perennial rivers
Evidence-based requirements for perceptualising intercatchment groundwater flow in hydrological models
Droughts can reduce the nitrogen retention capacity of catchments
Explaining changes in rainfall–runoff relationships during and after Australia's Millennium Drought: a community perspective
Three hypotheses on changing river flood hazards
A multivariate-driven approach for disentangling the reduction in near-natural Iberian water resources post-1980
Hydrology and riparian forests drive carbon and nitrogen supply and DOC : NO3− stoichiometry along a headwater Mediterranean stream
Event controls on intermittent streamflow in a temperate climate
Inclusion of flood diversion canal operation in the H08 hydrological model with a case study from the Chao Phraya River basin: model development and validation
Flood generation: process patterns from the raindrop to the ocean
Use of streamflow indices to identify the catchment drivers of hydrographs
Theoretical and empirical evidence against the Budyko catchment trajectory conjecture
Spatial distribution of groundwater recharge, based on regionalised soil moisture models in Wadi Natuf karst aquifers, Palestine
Barriers to mainstream adoption of catchment-wide natural flood management: a transdisciplinary problem-framing study of delivery practice
Low hydrological connectivity after summer drought inhibits DOC export in a forested headwater catchment
Rainbow color map distorts and misleads research in hydrology – guidance for better visualizations and science communication
Attribution of growing season evapotranspiration variability considering snowmelt and vegetation changes in the arid alpine basins
Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating multi-annual climate teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow
Technical note: “Bit by bit”: a practical and general approach for evaluating model computational complexity vs. model performance
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
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
Arsh Grewal, Erin M. Nicholls, and Sean K. Carey
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2467–2483, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2467-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2467-2025, 2025
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Stream chemistry in permafrost watersheds is highly seasonal due to ground thaw and declining streamflow after spring melt, reducing hydrologic connectivity with organic-rich flow paths in fall. We quantified the magnitude of stream chemistry seasonality (driven by processes other than seasonal streamflow) across 10 watersheds. Watersheds with steeper slopes saw a more rapid decline in DOC (dissolved organic carbon) concentrations, while greater permafrost extent led to a greater relative increase in ion concentrations.
Zhen Cui and Fuqiang Tian
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2275–2291, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2275-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2275-2025, 2025
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This study investigates stormflow patterns in a forested watershed in north China, highlighting the fact that delayed stormflow is governed by soil water content (SWC) and groundwater level (GWL). When SWC exceeds its storage capacity, excess water infiltrates, recharging groundwater and gradually elevating GWL. Rising GWL enhances subsurface connectivity and lateral flow, synchronizing watershed responses and, in extreme cases, causing a delayed stormflow peak to merge with the direct stormflow peak.
Karl Auerswald, Juergen Geist, John N. Quinton, and Peter Fiener
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 2185–2200, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2185-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2185-2025, 2025
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Floods, droughts, and heatwaves are increasing globally. This is often attributed to CO2-driven climate change. However, at the global scale, CO2-driven climate change neither reduces precipitation nor adequately explains droughts. Land-use change, particularly soil sealing, compaction, and drainage, is likely to be more significant for water losses by runoff leading to flooding and water scarcity and is therefore an important part of the solution to mitigate floods, droughts, and heatwaves.
Guta Wakbulcho Abeshu, Hong-Yi Li, Mingjie Shi, and L. Ruby Leung
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1847–1864, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1847-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1847-2025, 2025
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This study examined how water availability, climate dryness, and plant productivity interact at the catchment scale. Using various indices and statistical methods, we found a 0–2-month lag in these interactions. Strong correlations during peak-productivity months were observed, with a notable hysteresis effect in vegetation response to changes in water availability and climate dryness. The findings help better understand catchment responses to climate variability.
Wouter R. Berghuijs, Ross A. Woods, Bailey J. Anderson, Anna Luisa Hemshorn de Sánchez, and Markus Hrachowitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1319–1333, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1319-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1319-2025, 2025
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Water balances of catchments will often strongly depend on their state in the recent past, but such memory effects may persist at annual timescales. We use global data sets to show that annual memory is typically absent in precipitation but strong in terrestrial water stores and also present in evaporation and streamflow (including low flows and floods). Our experiments show that hysteretic models provide behaviour that is consistent with these observed memory behaviours.
Xinyao Zhou, Zhuping Sheng, Kiril Manevski, Rongtian Zhao, Qingzhou Zhang, Yanmin Yang, Shumin Han, Jinghong Liu, and Yonghui Yang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 159–177, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-159-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-159-2025, 2025
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Conventional hydrological models erratically replicate slow hydrological dynamics, necessitating model modification and paradigm shift in hydrological science. The system dynamics approach successfully explains patterns of slow hydrological behaviors at inter-annual and decadal scales by dividing a hydrological system into different hierarchies and building endogenous linking structure among stocks. In spite of the simplicity, it holds potential to integrate hydrological behaviors across scales.
Julia L. A. Knapp, Wouter R. Berghuijs, Marius G. Floriancic, and James W. Kirchner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-371, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-371, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
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This study explores how streams react to rain and how water travels through the landscape to reach them, two processes rarely studied together. Using detailed data from two temperate areas, it shows that streams respond to rain much faster than rainwater travels to them. Wetter conditions lead to stronger runoff by releasing older stored water, while heavy rainfall moves newer rainwater to streams faster. These findings offer new insights into how water moves through the environment.
James W. Kirchner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4427–4454, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4427-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4427-2024, 2024
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Here, I present a new way to quantify how streamflow responds to rainfall across a range of timescales. This approach can estimate how different rainfall intensities affect streamflow. It can also quantify how runoff response to rainfall varies, depending on how wet the landscape already is before the rain falls. This may help us to understand processes and landscape properties that regulate streamflow and to assess the susceptibility of different landscapes to flooding.
Yulong Zhu, Yang Zhou, Xiaorong Xu, Changqing Meng, and Yuankun Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4251–4261, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4251-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4251-2024, 2024
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A timely local flood forecast is an effective way to reduce casualties and economic losses. The current theoretical or numerical models play an important role in local flood forecasting. However, they still cannot bridge the contradiction between high calculation accuracy, high calculation efficiency, and simple operability. Therefore, this paper expects to propose a new flood forecasting model with higher computational efficiency and simpler operation.
Daniel Klotz, Martin Gauch, Frederik Kratzert, Grey Nearing, and Jakob Zscheischler
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3665–3673, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3665-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3665-2024, 2024
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The evaluation of model performance is essential for hydrological modeling. Using performance criteria requires a deep understanding of their properties. We focus on a counterintuitive aspect of the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and show that if we divide the data into multiple parts, the overall performance can be higher than all the evaluations of the subsets. Although this follows from the definition of the NSE, the resulting behavior can have unintended consequences in practice.
Zhen Cui, Fuqiang Tian, Zilong Zhao, Zitong Xu, Yongjie Duan, Jie Wen, and Mohd Yawar Ali Khan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3613–3632, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3613-2024, 2024
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We investigated the response characteristics and occurrence conditions of bimodal hydrographs using 10 years of hydrometric and isotope data in a semi-humid forested watershed in north China. Our findings indicate that bimodal hydrographs occur when the combined total of the event rainfall and antecedent soil moisture index exceeds 200 mm. Additionally, we determined that delayed stormflow is primarily contributed to by shallow groundwater.
Athanasios Tsiokanos, Martine Rutten, Ruud J. van der Ent, and Remko Uijlenhoet
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3327–3345, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3327-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3327-2024, 2024
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We focus on past high-flow events to find flood drivers in the Geul. We also explore flood drivers’ trends across various timescales and develop a new method to detect the main direction of a trend. Our results show that extreme 24 h precipitation alone is typically insufficient to cause floods. The combination of extreme rainfall and wet initial conditions determines the chance of flooding. Precipitation that leads to floods increases in winter, whereas no consistent trends are found in summer.
Soohyun Yang, Kwanghun Choi, and Kyungrock Paik
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 3119–3132, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3119-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-3119-2024, 2024
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In extracting a river network from a digital elevation model, an arbitrary pruning area should be specified. As this value grows, the apparent drainage density is reduced following a power function. This reflects the fractal topographic nature. We prove this relationship related to the known power law in the exceedance probability distribution of drainage area. The power-law exponent is expressed with fractal dimensions. Our findings are supported by analysis of 14 real river networks.
Matthias Sprenger, Rosemary W. H. Carroll, David Marchetti, Carleton Bern, Harsh Beria, Wendy Brown, Alexander Newman, Curtis Beutler, and Kenneth H. Williams
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1711–1723, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1711-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1711-2024, 2024
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Stable isotopes of water (described as d-excess) in mountain snowpack can be used to infer proportions of high-elevation snowmelt in stream water. In a Colorado River headwater catchment, nearly half of the water during peak streamflow is derived from melted snow at elevations greater than 3200 m. High-elevation snowpack contributions were higher for years with lower snowpack and warmer spring temperatures. Thus, we suggest that d-excess could serve to assess high-elevation snowpack changes.
Bailey J. Anderson, Manuela I. Brunner, Louise J. Slater, and Simon J. Dadson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1567–1583, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1567-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1567-2024, 2024
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Elasticityrefers to how much the amount of water in a river changes with precipitation. We usually calculate this using average streamflow values; however, the amount of water within rivers is also dependent on stored water sources. Here, we look at how elasticity varies across the streamflow distribution and show that not only do low and high streamflows respond differently to precipitation change, but also these differences vary with water storage availability.
Danny Croghan, Pertti Ala-Aho, Jeffrey Welker, Kaisa-Riikka Mustonen, Kieran Khamis, David M. Hannah, Jussi Vuorenmaa, Bjørn Kløve, and Hannu Marttila
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1055–1070, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1055-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1055-2024, 2024
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The transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from land into streams is changing due to climate change. We used a multi-year dataset of DOC and predictors of DOC in a subarctic stream to find out how transport of DOC varied between seasons and between years. We found that the way DOC is transported varied strongly seasonally, but year-to-year differences were less apparent. We conclude that the mechanisms of transport show a higher degree of interannual consistency than previously thought.
Jia Qin, Yongjian Ding, Faxiang Shi, Junhao Cui, Yaping Chang, Tianding Han, and Qiudong Zhao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 973–987, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-973-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-973-2024, 2024
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The linkage between the seasonal hydrothermal change of active layer, suprapermafrost groundwater, and surface runoff, which has been regarded as a “black box” in hydrological analyses and simulations, is a bottleneck problem in permafrost hydrological studies. Based on field observations, this study identifies seasonal variations and causes of suprapermafrost groundwater. The linkages and framework of watershed hydrology responding to the freeze–thaw of the active layer also are explored.
Francesc Gallart, Sebastián González-Fuentes, and Pilar Llorens
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 229–239, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-229-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-229-2024, 2024
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Normally, lighter oxygen and hydrogen isotopes are preferably evaporated from a water body, which becomes enriched in heavy isotopes. However, we observed that, in a water body subject to prolonged evaporation, some periods of heavy isotope depletion instead of enrichment happened. Furthermore, the usual models that describe the isotopy of evaporating waters may be in error if the atmospheric conditions of temperature and relative humidity are time-averaged instead of evaporation flux-weighted.
Guotao Zhang, Peng Cui, Carlo Gualtieri, Nazir Ahmed Bazai, Xueqin Zhang, and Zhengtao Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3005–3020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3005-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3005-2023, 2023
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This study used identified stormflow thresholds as a diagnostic tool to characterize abrupt variations in catchment emergent patterns pre- and post-earthquake. Earthquake-induced landslides with spatial heterogeneity and temporally undulating recovery increase the hydrologic nonstationary; thus, large post-earthquake floods are more likely to occur. This study contributes to mitigation and adaptive strategies for unpredictable hydrologic regimes triggered by abrupt natural disturbances.
Hongkai Gao, Fabrizio Fenicia, and Hubert H. G. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2607–2620, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2607-2023, 2023
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It is a deeply rooted perception that soil is key in hydrology. In this paper, we argue that it is the ecosystem, not the soil, that is in control of hydrology. Firstly, in nature, the dominant flow mechanism is preferential, which is not particularly related to soil properties. Secondly, the ecosystem, not the soil, determines the land–surface water balance and hydrological processes. Moving from a soil- to ecosystem-centred perspective allows more realistic and simpler hydrological models.
Daniel T. Myers, Darren L. Ficklin, and Scott M. Robeson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1755–1770, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1755-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1755-2023, 2023
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We projected climate change impacts to rain-on-snow (ROS) melt events in the Great Lakes Basin. Decreases in snowpack limit future ROS melt. Areas with mean winter/spring air temperatures near freezing are most sensitive to ROS changes. The projected proportion of total monthly snowmelt from ROS decreases. The timing for ROS melt is projected to be 2 weeks earlier by the mid-21st century and affects spring streamflow. This could affect freshwater resources management.
Sarah A. Bourke, Margaret Shanafield, Paul Hedley, Sarah Chapman, and Shawan Dogramaci
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 809–836, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-809-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-809-2023, 2023
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Here we present a hydrological framework for understanding the mechanisms supporting the persistence of water in pools along non-perennial rivers. Pools may collect water after rainfall events, be supported by water stored within the river channel sediments, or receive inflows from regional groundwater. These hydraulic mechanisms can be identified using a range of diagnostic tools (critiqued herein). We then apply this framework in north-west Australia to demonstrate its value.
Louisa D. Oldham, Jim Freer, Gemma Coxon, Nicholas Howden, John P. Bloomfield, and Christopher Jackson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 761–781, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-761-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-761-2023, 2023
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Water can move between river catchments via the subsurface, termed intercatchment groundwater flow (IGF). We show how a perceptual model of IGF can be developed with relatively simple geological interpretation and data requirements. We find that IGF dynamics vary in space, correlated to the dominant underlying geology. We recommend that IGF
loss functionsmay be used in conceptual rainfall–runoff models but should be supported by perceptualisation of IGF processes and connectivities.
Carolin Winter, Tam V. Nguyen, Andreas Musolff, Stefanie R. Lutz, Michael Rode, Rohini Kumar, and Jan H. Fleckenstein
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 303–318, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-303-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-303-2023, 2023
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The increasing frequency of severe and prolonged droughts threatens our freshwater resources. While we understand drought impacts on water quantity, its effects on water quality remain largely unknown. Here, we studied the impact of the unprecedented 2018–2019 drought in Central Europe on nitrate export in a heterogeneous mesoscale catchment in Germany. We show that severe drought can reduce a catchment's capacity to retain nitrogen, intensifying the internal pollution and export of nitrate.
Keirnan Fowler, Murray Peel, Margarita Saft, Tim J. Peterson, Andrew Western, Lawrence Band, Cuan Petheram, Sandra Dharmadi, Kim Seong Tan, Lu Zhang, Patrick Lane, Anthony Kiem, Lucy Marshall, Anne Griebel, Belinda E. Medlyn, Dongryeol Ryu, Giancarlo Bonotto, Conrad Wasko, Anna Ukkola, Clare Stephens, Andrew Frost, Hansini Gardiya Weligamage, Patricia Saco, Hongxing Zheng, Francis Chiew, Edoardo Daly, Glen Walker, R. Willem Vervoort, Justin Hughes, Luca Trotter, Brad Neal, Ian Cartwright, and Rory Nathan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6073–6120, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6073-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6073-2022, 2022
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Recently, we have seen multi-year droughts tending to cause shifts in the relationship between rainfall and streamflow. In shifted catchments that have not recovered, an average rainfall year produces less streamflow today than it did pre-drought. We take a multi-disciplinary approach to understand why these shifts occur, focusing on Australia's over-10-year Millennium Drought. We evaluate multiple hypotheses against evidence, with particular focus on the key role of groundwater processes.
Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5015–5033, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5015-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5015-2022, 2022
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There is serious concern that river floods are increasing. Starting from explanations discussed in public, the article addresses three hypotheses: land-use change, hydraulic structures, and climate change increase floods. This review finds that all three changes have the potential to not only increase floods, but also to reduce them. It is crucial to consider all three factors of change in flood risk management and communicate them to the general public in a nuanced way.
Amar Halifa-Marín, Miguel A. Torres-Vázquez, Enrique Pravia-Sarabia, Marc Lemus-Canovas, Pedro Jiménez-Guerrero, and Juan Pedro Montávez
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4251–4263, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4251-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4251-2022, 2022
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Near-natural Iberian water resources have suddenly decreased since the 1980s. These declines have been promoted by the weakening (enhancement) of wintertime precipitation (the NAOi) in the most humid areas, whereas afforestation and drought intensification have played a crucial role in semi-arid areas. Future water management would benefit from greater knowledge of North Atlantic climate variability and reforestation/afforestation processes in semi-arid catchments.
José L. J. Ledesma, Anna Lupon, Eugènia Martí, and Susana Bernal
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4209–4232, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4209-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4209-2022, 2022
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We studied a small stream located in a Mediterranean forest. Our goal was to understand how stream flow and the presence of riparian forests, which grow in flat banks near the stream, influence the availability of food for aquatic microorganisms. High flows were associated with higher amounts of food because rainfall episodes transfer it from the surrounding sources, particularly riparian forests, to the stream. Understanding how ecosystems work is essential to better manage natural resources.
Nils Hinrich Kaplan, Theresa Blume, and Markus Weiler
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2671–2696, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2671-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2671-2022, 2022
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This study is analyses how characteristics of precipitation events and soil moisture and temperature dynamics during these events can be used to model the associated streamflow responses in intermittent streams. The models are used to identify differences between the dominant controls of streamflow intermittency in three distinct geologies of the Attert catchment, Luxembourg. Overall, soil moisture was found to be the most important control of intermittent streamflow in all geologies.
Saritha Padiyedath Gopalan, Adisorn Champathong, Thada Sukhapunnaphan, Shinichiro Nakamura, and Naota Hanasaki
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2541–2560, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2541-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2541-2022, 2022
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The modelling of diversion canals using hydrological models is important because they play crucial roles in water management. Therefore, we developed a simplified canal diversion scheme and implemented it into the H08 global hydrological model. The developed diversion scheme was validated in the Chao Phraya River basin, Thailand. Region-specific validation results revealed that the H08 model with the diversion scheme could effectively simulate the observed flood diversion pattern in the basin.
Günter Blöschl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2469–2480, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2469-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2469-2022, 2022
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Sound understanding of how floods come about allows for the development of more reliable flood management tools that assist in mitigating their negative impacts. This article reviews river flood generation processes and flow paths across space scales, starting from water movement in the soil pores and moving up to hillslopes, catchments, regions and entire continents. To assist model development, there is a need to learn from observed patterns of flood generation processes at all spatial scales.
Jeenu Mathai and Pradeep P. Mujumdar
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2019–2033, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2019-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2019-2022, 2022
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With availability of large samples of data in catchments, it is necessary to develop indices that describe the streamflow processes. This paper describes new indices applicable for the rising and falling limbs of streamflow hydrographs. The indices provide insights into the drivers of the hydrographs. The novelty of the work is on differentiating hydrographs by their time irreversibility property and offering an alternative way to recognize primary drivers of streamflow hydrographs.
Nathan G. F. Reaver, David A. Kaplan, Harald Klammler, and James W. Jawitz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1507–1525, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1507-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1507-2022, 2022
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The Budyko curve emerges globally from the behavior of multiple catchments. Single-parameter Budyko equations extrapolate the curve concept to individual catchments, interpreting curves and parameters as representing climatic and biophysical impacts on water availability, respectively. We tested these two key components theoretically and empirically, finding that catchments are not required to follow Budyko curves and usually do not, implying the parametric framework lacks predictive ability.
Clemens Messerschmid and Amjad Aliewi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1043–1061, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1043-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1043-2022, 2022
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Temporal distribution of groundwater recharge has been widely studied; yet, much less attention has been paid to its spatial distribution. Based on a previous study of field-measured and modelled formation-specific recharge in the Mediterranean, this paper differentiates annual recharge coefficients in a novel approach and basin classification framework for physical features such as lithology, soil and LU/LC characteristics, applicable also in other previously ungauged basins around the world.
Thea Wingfield, Neil Macdonald, Kimberley Peters, and Jack Spees
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 6239–6259, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-6239-2021, 2021
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Human activities are causing greater and more frequent floods. Natural flood management (NFM) uses processes of the water cycle to slow the flow of rainwater, bringing together land and water management. Despite NFM's environmental and social benefits, it is yet to be widely adopted. Two environmental practitioner groups collaborated to produce a picture of the barriers to delivery, showing that there is a perceived lack of support from government and the public for NFM.
Katharina Blaurock, Burkhard Beudert, Benjamin S. Gilfedder, Jan H. Fleckenstein, Stefan Peiffer, and Luisa Hopp
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5133–5151, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5133-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5133-2021, 2021
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Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is an important part of the global carbon cycle with regards to carbon storage, greenhouse gas emissions and drinking water treatment. In this study, we compared DOC export of a small, forested catchment during precipitation events after dry and wet preconditions. We found that the DOC export from areas that are usually important for DOC export was inhibited after long drought periods.
Michael Stoelzle and Lina Stein
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4549–4565, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4549-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4549-2021, 2021
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We found with a scientific paper survey (~ 1000 papers) that 45 % of the papers used rainbow color maps or red–green visualizations. Those rainbow visualizations, although attracting the media's attention, will not be accessible for up to 10 % of people due to color vision deficiency. The rainbow color map distorts and misleads scientific communication. The study gives guidance on how to avoid, improve and trust color and how the flaws of the rainbow color map should be communicated in science.
Tingting Ning, Zhi Li, Qi Feng, Zongxing Li, and Yanyan Qin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 3455–3469, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3455-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3455-2021, 2021
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Previous studies decomposed ET variance in precipitation, potential ET, and total water storage changes based on Budyko equations. However, the effects of snowmelt and vegetation changes have not been incorporated in snow-dependent basins. We thus extended this method in arid alpine basins of northwest China and found that ET variance is primarily controlled by rainfall, followed by coupled rainfall and vegetation. The out-of-phase seasonality between rainfall and snowmelt weaken ET variance.
William Rust, Mark Cuthbert, John Bloomfield, Ron Corstanje, Nicholas Howden, and Ian Holman
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2223–2237, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2223-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2223-2021, 2021
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In this paper, we find evidence for the cyclical behaviour (on a 7-year basis) in UK streamflow records that match the main cycle of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Furthermore, we find that the strength of these 7-year cycles in streamflow is dependent on proportional contributions from groundwater and the response times of the underlying groundwater systems. This may allow for improvements to water management practices through better understanding of long-term streamflow behaviour.
Elnaz Azmi, Uwe Ehret, Steven V. Weijs, Benjamin L. Ruddell, and Rui A. P. Perdigão
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1103–1115, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1103-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1103-2021, 2021
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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.
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.
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.
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Short summary
We compared the dynamics of streamflow, groundwater and soil moisture to investigate how different parts of an agricultural catchment in Lower Austria are connected. Groundwater is best connected around the stream and worse uphill, where groundwater is deeper. Soil moisture connectivity increases with increasing catchment wetness but is not influenced by spatial position in the catchment. Groundwater is more connected to the stream on the seasonal scale compared to the event scale.
We compared the dynamics of streamflow, groundwater and soil moisture to investigate how...
