SCOPE 51 Biogeochemistry of Small Catchments 9 Hydrologic Processes by NOR!

N E" PE#ERS
http://www.icsu-scope.org/downloadpubs/scope51/chapter09.html#t9.2
A catchment is a basic unit of landscape particularl for in!estigations of hdrologic processes.
"picall# the topographic boundar of a catchment coincides with the hdrologic boundar
causing an precipitation falling on to the catchment to be routed to a stream where it is
transported out of the catchment. $undamental components of the hdrologic ccle# such as
precipitation# runoff and e!apotranspiration %computed b difference between precipitation and
runoff o!er long periods&# ha!e been documented from water balance studies on small
catchments. 'bser!ations and time series data collected from small catchments pro!ide a basis
for the de!elopment of hdrologic models# and man such models ha!e been used for flood
forecasting. (owe!er# one of the more recent goals of hdrologic in!estigations in small
catchments is to understand better how streamflow is generated and how this process relates to
water )ualit genesis.
*rior to the last few decades# studies of the sources of streamflow during storms or snowmelt
were concerned primaril with the phsics of the processes in!ol!ed. (orton %19++& de!eloped a
hpothesis stating that the source of runoff during storms is the e,cess rainfall o!er infiltration
capacit of basin surficial materials and that the water infiltrated would become groundwater
which was the source of the baseflow part of the hdrograph. (orton-s thesis is effecti!el a two-
component mi,ing model. (owe!er# (ewlett %19.1& showed that water draining from the soil#
i.e. unsaturated flow# also contributed to baseflow. /etson %19.0& suggested that onl certain
parts of drainage basins contributed runoff during most storms %the partial-area concept&# which
was supported b a stud b 1unne and /lac2 %1930& in the humid northeastern 45A. 6n
addition# (ewlett and (ibbert %19.3& proposed that during storms# ephemeral streams e,pand
upstream b collecting o!erland flow and shallow subsurface runoff along their channels %the
!ariable-source area concept&. 'n the whole# these phsicall based models came to the )uite
reasonable conclusion that new rainwater was the dominant source of runoff and se!eral
techni)ues# graphical and mathematical# were de!eloped to subdi!ide the hdrograph into
corresponding source waters %e.g. see (ewlett and (ibbert# 19.3&.
7ecentl# the use of en!ironmental tracers# such as naturall-occurring isotopes %
18
'# 1&# solutes
%9l
-
# /r
-
& and other phsical and chemical characteristics %temperature# specific conductance and
al2alinit&# to trac2 the mo!ement of water has gained widespread acceptance. :hen isotopic
tracers were used in a two-component mi,ing model# pre storm %;old;& water was found to be the
dominant component of storm runoff %52lash et al.# 193.< 52lash and $ar!olden# 1939< (ooper
and 5hoema2er# 198.< *earce et al.# 198.< 52lash et al.# 198.< "urner et al.# 1983&. "his
contradiction between the phsical models and chemical or isotopic mi,ing models inspired a
wide spectrum of interpretations of the hdrologic processes which are subse)uentl
compounded in the interpretation of processes controlling streamwater )ualit.
=ost information on hdrologic processes in small catchments has been ac)uired from
in!estigations on forested and agricultural ecosstems. "he need for scientificall based forest
resource and agricultural management predicated sound hdrologic research programmes
worldwide. $or e,ample# hdrologic studies focused on the effect of !arious tpes of forest
management practices such as the !arious tpes of har!esting and reforestation led to studies of
the effects of these practices on runoff timing and basin ields. Also# the importance of water
management in ma,imi>ing agricultural ields# has led to a !ariet of studies on agricultural
catchments. =uch of the information gained from these studies is central to the issue of the role
of small catchments in understanding hdrologic processes. (owe!er# the hdrologic results
from small catchment studies in agricultural or forested areas will be presented primaril in the
corresponding chapters on agriculture and forest management %e.g. 9hapters 1. and 13#
respecti!el&# because the themes central to these chapters are well suited to include this
information as part of the historical de!elopment of the use of small catchments in these
particular fields.
"he ob?ecti!e of this chapter is to e,pand on se!eral aspects of the 2nowledge gained about
hdrological processes from catchment studies. "he information herein is not meant to pro!ide
the reader with an e,hausti!e re!iew of the scientific literature# although references are listed for
each of the topics discussed. 7ather# this chapter contains results as the relate to a !ariet of
methods that ha!e been applied to understand hdrologic processes in small catchments.
9.2 RUNOFF CHARACTERISTICS
'ne of the most accurate measurements made in small catchments is streamflow or discharge.
5treamflow is the integrated result of all meteorological and hdrologic processes in the
catchment. 9onsiderable effort has been e,pended o!er the past se!eral decades to e!aluate the
information contained in the surface water hdrograph# i.e. the factors producing it# and to tr to
relate these factors )uantitati!el to the discharge. A wide range of approaches ha!e been
de!eloped and used. $or e,ample# hdrologists concerned with flood prediction tpicall are not
concerned with baseflow characteristics of the hdrograph and approaches ta2en for their
analsis range from statistical assessments or flood fre)uenc analsis to more phsicall based#
deterministic modelling. 6n this section# discussed topics include flow-duration analsis#
recession-cur!e analsis# timing or dnamics of runoff# the water budget and the recent use of
remote sensing and geographic information sstems %@65& to understand hdrologic processes.
9.2.1 $A': 147A"6'B
"he shape of the flow-duration cur!e is determined b the hdrologic and geologic
characteristics of the drainage area# and the cur!e ma be used to stud the hdrologic response
of a drainage basin to !arious tpes and distributions of inputs# i.e. snowmelt or rainstorms# or to
compare the responses of one basin with those of another. A cur!e with a steep slope throughout
results from streamflow that !aries mar2edl and is largel fed b direct runoff# whereas a cur!e
with flat slope results from streamflow that is well sustained b surface releases or groundwater
discharges. "he slope of the lower end of the duration cur!e# i.e. low flow characteristics# shows
the beha!iour of the perennial storage in the drainage basin< a flat slope at the lower end
indicates a large amount of storage and a steep slope indicates a negligible amount.
6n unregulated streams# the distribution of low flows is controlled chiefl b the geolog of the
basin. "hus# the lower end of the flow-duration cur!e is often used to stud the effect of geolog
on the groundwater runoff to the stream %Aers and 1ing# 19.3< *eters and =urdoch# 1985<
*eters and 1riscoll# 1983&. $or e,ample# the tpe# thic2ness and distribution of surficial
materials# particularl for catchments in glaciated terrain# determine the hdrologic
characteristics of the groundwater storage %$igure 9.1&. $low-duration cur!es for streams
underlain b !aring percentages of stratified drift and till produce a characteristic unit flow
response attributable to groundwater discharge from these basin materials in 9onnecticut# 45A
%"homas# 19..&. Also# watersheds containing e,pansi!e deep deposits of till will store more
water and release it more slowl than those containing shallow deposits of till interspersed with
outcrops of underling bedroc2 %*eters and =urdoch# 1985< Bewton et al.# 1983< *eters and
1riscoll# 1983&.
:here the stream drains a single geologic formation# the position of the lowflow end of the
cur!e is an inde, of the contribution to streamflow b the formation. $urthermore# sedimentar
roc2s# limestone and sandstone# sustain flow better than igneous roc2s %9lar2# 1955&# as do
basalts and other e,trusi!e igneous roc2s %=c1onald and Aangbein# 1908&. (owe!er# fractured
igneous roc2s can store relati!el large amounts of groundwater and can sustain flow better than
unfractured igneous roc2s %5tafford and "ro,ell# 1900&.
Cariations in climate# mainl the tpe# )uantit# intensit and fre)uenc of precipitation# ha!e a
pronounced effect on flow. A ma?or limitation in the application of flow-duration characteristics
to the )uantification of hdrologic processes is : that the relations between precipitation )uantit
and storage within or among basins generall are un2nown %Aane and Aei# 1950< 1ingman#
1938&. D,cept in basins with a highl permeable surface# the distribution of high flows is
go!erned largel b climate# the phsiograph and the plant co!er of the basin. "he shape of the
flow-duration cur!e at the high end can indicate something about the storage capacit in the
catchment# resistance %routing& and dnamics of reser!oirs %surface storage in la2es and
wetlands# and groundwater storage in a)uifers& and the phsiographic characteristics of the basin
such as slopes and drainage distribution patterns %Aane and Aei# 1950&. 5urface water storage
features# including swamps# ponds and surface depressions# ha!e a large effect on the shape of
flow-duration cur!es %5earc# 1959&. (owe!er# a ma?or contribution of the analsis of flow
duration is the )ualitati!e assessment of the primar factors controlling streamflow in a
particular basin %5earc# 1959&. A comparati!e analsis of these characteristics among basins
ields the most defensible scientific results# particularl if the hdrolog for one of the
catchments is 2nown.
5e!eral parameters are tpicall used to characteri>e streamflow# but all are common in their
attempt to incorporate the temporal !ariabilit of flow. 6n order to e,tract information on
hdrologic processes from an analsis of flow duration# it is necessar to deri!e a measure that
will remo!e some of the !ariabilit in flow characteristics due to climate. $or e,ample# if two
catchments are identical in all respects e,cept the )uantit of precipitation# then the hdrologic
processes controlling streamflow should basicall be the same. "he flow-duration cur!es ma be
)uite different< the catchment with higher precipitation will ha!e higher streamflows than the
other catchment. /ut# e!erthing else being e)ual# the shape of the two cur!es should be )uite
similar %5wift et al.# 1988&. Aane and Aei %1950& defined a !ariabilit inde, which was the
standard de!iation of the common logarithms of the discharges determined at 10E inter!als from
5 to 95E of the cumulati!e fre)uenc distribution. 9atchments with more sustained flow#
indicati!e of basins with higher dnamic storage# had a lower !ariabilit inde, than catchments
with a higher percentage of surface runoff and lower amount of dnamic storage. Ai2ewise#
flow-duration cur!es with a steep slope are indicati!e of streams that ha!e more !ariabilit than
those with a flatter slope. 5lopes# therefore# can be used to compare catchment runoff response.
5ome approaches for estimating slopes include ratios of e,tremes to the median or mean
discharges# or !ice !ersa %1ingman# 1938< *eters and =urdoch# 1985< *eters and 1riscoll# 1983&.
Figure 9.1 $low-duration cur!es illustrating the relation between !ariations in surficial geolog
and flow of streams. "hese cur!es were deri!ed from +0 ears of data for 20 unregulated streams
in a gentl rolling glaciated terrain in 9onnecticut# 45A# that had an a!erage flow of 1+21 5
-1

2m
-2
%from "homas# 19..&.