scholarly journals Estimating Surface Water Presence and Infiltration in Ephemeral to Intermittent Streams in the Southwestern US

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika L. Gallo ◽  
Thomas Meixner ◽  
Kathleen A. Lohse ◽  
Hillary Nicholas
Keyword(s):  
Stream Flow ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Overland Flow ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Intermittent Flow ◽  
Stream Channel ◽  
Annual Streamflow ◽  
Sediment Data

Streamflow in arid and semi-arid regions is predominantly temporary, an integral part of mountain block hydrology and of significant importance for groundwater recharge and biogeochemical processes. However, temporary streamflow regimes, especially ephemeral flow, remain poorly quantified. We use electrical resistance sensors and USGS stream gauge data in 15 southern Arizona streams spanning a climate gradient (mean annual precipitation from 160 to 750 mm) to quantify temporary streamflow as streamflow presence and water presence, which includes streamflow, ponding and soil moisture. We use stream channel sediment data to estimate saturated hydraulic conductivity and potential annual infiltration. Annual streamflow ranged 0.6–82.4% or 2–301 days; while water presence ranged from 2.6 to 82.4% or 10 to over 301 days, or 4–33 times longer than streamflow. We identified 5 statistically distinct flow regimes based on the annual percent streamflow and water presence: (1) dry-ephemeral, (2) wet-ephemeral, (3) dry-intermittent, (4) wet-intermittent, and (5) seasonally-intermittent. In contrast to our expectations, stream channel density was a better predictor of annual streamflow and water presence than annual rainfall alone. Whereas, the dry-ephemeral and wet-ephemeral flow regimes varied with seasonal precipitation, the dry-intermittent, wet intermittent and seasonally-intermittent flow regimes did not. These results coupled with the potential infiltration estimates indicate that streamflow at the driest sites occurs in response to rainfall and overland flow while groundwater discharge and vadose zone contributions enhance streamflow at the wetter sites. We suggest that on a short temporal scale, and with respect to water presence, wetter sites might be buffered better against shifts in the timing and distribution of precipitation in response to climate change. Flow regime classifications that include both stream flow and water presence, rather than on stream flow alone, may be important for predicting thresholds in ecological functions and refugia in these dryland systems.

scholarly journals Hydrological Processes in Eucalypt and Pine Forested Headwater Catchments within Mediterranean Region

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1418
Author(s):  
Anne-Karine Boulet ◽  
Mitas E. Rial-Rivas ◽  
Carla Ferreira ◽  
Celeste O. A. Coelho ◽  
Zahra Kalantari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Overland Flow ◽  
Rainfall Amount ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Runoff Coefficient ◽  
Annual Streamflow ◽  
Seasonal Behavior ◽  
Headwater Catchments ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Mediterranean headwater catchments have experienced major land-use changes in recent centuries, namely characterized by afforestation with fast-growing tree species (e.g., pine and eucalyptus). This paper investigates differences in the hydrological response of two forested catchments with distinct Pinus pinaster Aiton (PIN) and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (EUC) covers over 6 hydrological years, from 2010 to 2016. The study was developed in paired catchments located in North–Central Portugal, under wet Mediterranean climate and schist bedrock. Based on rainfall and streamflow measurements, the hydrological responses were analyzed through the water-balance calculations, rainfall-runoff event analyses, and correlations between rainfall characteristics, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, overland flow, and land-cover parameters. The study period recorded a wide range of annual rainfall, between 984 and 2127 mm per years. The annual streamflow displayed greater inter-annual variation, from 208 to 1430 mm for PIN and from 217 to 1291 mm for EUC. The runoff coefficient was higher in the wettest years, with a maximum of 58% for PIN and 61% for EUC, and decreased substantially in the driest year, representing only 17% of the rainfall in PIN and 22% in EUC. Rainfall was predominant during the winter season (41%), followed by autumn (30%) and spring (24%). The streamflow displayed a seasonal behavior in both catchments, with higher runoff coefficient for EUC that for PIN. Half of the annual streamflow occurs during the winter, with the highest average runoff coefficient attained for EUC and PIN respectively being 68% and 64% of the rainfall amount. Annual evapotranspiration was relatively constant through the six years of study and showed higher average values in PIN (907 mm) than EUC (739 mm), highlighting the importance of forest type and showing that mature pine plantations lead to higher water consumption than eucalypt stands. Annual rainfall amount affects evapotranspiration rate (%), the percentage of ET increasing from 37% to 78% for PIN and from 34% to 73% for EUC between the wettest and the driest years, which raises concerns regarding the impact of climate changes on water availability in the mountain areas of the Mediterranean region.

scholarly journals Observations and  Modelling of Precipitation  in the Southern Alps of  New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Stephen John Stuart
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Southern Alps ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Orographic Rainfall

<p>Precipitation in the central Southern Alps affects glaciation, river flows and key economic activities, yet there is still uncertainty about its spatial distribution and primary influences. Long-term and future patterns of New Zealand precipitation can be estimated by the HadRM3P regional climate model (RCM) - developed by the United Kingdom Met Office - but orographic rainfall in the steep and rugged topography of the Southern Alps is difficult to simulate accurately at the 30-km resolution of the RCM. To quantify empirical relationships, observations of surface rainfall were gathered from rain gauges covering a broad region of the South Island. In four transects of the Hokitika, Franz Josef and Haast regions, the mean annual precipitation maxima of objectively interpolated profiles are consistently located 7-11 km southeast of the New Zealand Alpine Fault. The magnitude and shape of the rainfall profile across the Southern Alps are strongly influenced by the 850-hPa wind direction to the north of the mountain range, as determined by comparing rain-gauge observations to wind vectors from NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis 1. The observed profile of orographically enhanced rainfall was incorporated into a trivariate spline in order to interpolate precipitation simulated by the RCM. This downscaling method significantly improved the RCM's estimates of mean annual rainfall at stations in the Southern Alps region from 1971 to 2000, and RCM projections of future rainfall in mountainous regions may be similarly refined via this technique. The improved understanding of the observed rainfall distribution in the Southern Alps, as gained from this analysis, has a range of other hydrological applications and is already being used in 'downstream' modelling of glaciers.</p>

Effects of Genotype and Rainfall on Forage Oats in a Semi-arid Region

1977 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hadjichristodoulou
Keyword(s):  
Arid Region ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Varietal Response ◽  
Semi Arid Region ◽  
Semi Arid

SUMMARYThere were significant differences in dry matter yield among five forage oat varieties tested at ten environments during 1970–75. The correlation coefficients between annual rainfall and DM yield varied with variety from 0·69 to 0·88, late varieties tending to give higher yields. Lateness, and high varietal response to annual rainfall and improved environmental conditions, can be used as selection criteria in semi-arid regions. Late varieties had higher DM and lower crude protein contents, and forage produced under lower rainfall conditions tended to have more DM and crude protein.

Altered stream-flow regimes and invasive plant species: the Tamarix case

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet C. Stromberg ◽  
Sharon J. Lite ◽  
Roy Marler ◽  
Charles Paradzick ◽  
Patrick B. Shafroth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Stream Flow ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Invasive Plant Species

scholarly journals Deliberation of Hilly Areas for Water Harvesting Application in Western Crete, Greece.

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-629 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Overland Flow ◽  
Annual Runoff ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Water Harvesting ◽  
Hydrological Conditions ◽  
Monthly Average ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
Harvesting Techniques ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Water Problems

<div> <p>The meteorological, physical and hydrological conditions prevailing in a hilly area, namely the region around Malaxa (Western Crete), are analyzed and investigated in relation to water harvesting applications. The literature relating to water harvesting techniques and applications is reviewed and the conclusions that have been drawn by other investigators concerning methods of water harvesting techniques and applications are outlined and discussed. Specific reasons for choosing this particular study area was given and the types and installation of equipment used are also described. The results indicate that despite the fact that the mean annual rainfall can be considered as high (940 mm), its distribution is very uneven and only 6% of it falls from May to September. This fact creates serious water problems in the area during the dry seasons. Also, mean annual and monthly average temperatures have values which contribute to the evapotranspiration of high amount of precipitation and may form frost and overland flow respectively, during some days. Furthermore, the annual runoff is estimated to be 248 mm and a part of this can be overland flow while the other part can be a throughflow. The occurrence of overland flow is also proved by the comparison of the infiltration and the intensities of rainfall with the return periods of 5 and 10 years. Additionally, the quantification of overland flow is made by collecting and analyzing it from experimental plots. By this method, we clarified that the quantity of overland flow is affected by the inclination of the ground, the density of vegetation and the compaction of the soil. These results, although all of them are not wholly conclusive, can present an advance for understanding the use of meteorological, physical and hydrological conditions for water harvesting applications in an area.</p> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p>

scholarly journals Model Sophistication in Relation to Scales in Snowmelt Runoff Modeling

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 267-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Bengtsson ◽  
Vijay P. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Stream Flow ◽  
Overland Flow ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Snowmelt Runoff ◽  
Degree Day ◽  
Groundwater Origin ◽  
Runoff Modeling ◽  
Snow Model ◽  
Runoff Model

Snowmelt induced runoff from river basins is usually successfully simulated using a simple degree-day approach and conceptual rainfall-runoff models. Fluctuations within the day can not be described by such crude approaches. In the present paper, it is investigated which degree of sophistication is required in snow models and runoff models to resolve the basin runoff from basins of different character, and also how snow models and runoff models must adapt to each other. Models of different degree of sophistication are tested on basins ranging from 6,000 km2 down to less than 1 km2. It is found that for large basins it is sufficient to use a very simple runoff module and a degree day approach, but that the snow model has to be distributed related to land cover and topography. Also for small forested basins, where most of the stream flow is of groundwater origin, the degree-day method combined with a conceptual runoff model reproduces the snowmelt induced runoff well. Where overland flow takes place, a high resolution snow model is required for resolving the runoff fluctuations at the basin outlet.

scholarly journals SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANNUAL RAINFALL IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA USING SPATIAL KRIGING INTERPOLATOR

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 95-107
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
High Spatial Resolution ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Climate Research ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Meteorological Elements ◽  
General Climate

Precipitation and air temperature are the basic meteorological elements in the climate research, indicating and influencing the general characteristics of the atmospheric circulation by their spatiotemporal dynamics, determinating the general climate character of the location. In this paper, the interpretation of the pluviometric regime in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be based on quantitative parameters of the horizontal spatial distribution of the mean annual precipitation sums resulting by applying GIS based kriging spatial interpolator. The results of research have shown the annual pluviometric GRID for Bosnia and Herzegovina of high spatial resolution enabling, beside the horizontal spatial distribution, the production of the detailed transverse and longitudinal pluviometric profiles.

scholarly journals Water availability and demand in the humid and arid regions within development regions of South Africa

1989 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-11
Author(s):  
A. B. De Villiers ◽  
L. A. Van Wyk ◽  
W. Viviers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Drainage Basins ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall

A method has been developed to distinguish between water supply and demand in individual development regions which contain distinct humid and arid to subarid areas. Development regions A and D have heterogeneous climatic distributions within their borders and are dealt with in this regard. These regions can be divided into arid and humid areas. A magisterial district was considered to be humid when the average annual rainfall is more than 400 mm over more than 50 percent of its total area. The water availability and demand for each of the districts (whether humid or arid) were calculated on a pro rata basis according to the area each district occupies within the various secondary drainage basins. The results obtained in this study show great promise to divide the regions into arid and humid areas for more accurate and detailed planning within the development regions.

scholarly journals Characteristics of Land Resources as Foundation of Watershed Management in Sub Watershed Merawu, Serayu

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beny Harjadi
Keyword(s):  
Watershed Management ◽  
Stream Flow ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Middle Part ◽  
Forest Area ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Land Resources ◽  
Tea Garden ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One

In 2000, the area of DAS critical land in Indonesia is approximately 23,242,881 ha which consists of forest area 8,136,646 ha (35%) and non forest area 15,106,234 ha (65%). In the contrary, the fact shows that in 1989/ 1990 (the beginning of ‘Pelita’/ the five years development planning owned by the government), the area of DAS critical land in Indonesia was 13,180,000 ha only that consists of forest area 5,910,000 ha and non forest area 7,270,000 ha. The cause and its location of negative improvement of the above DAS has not been predited yet. The one of the causes is the weakness of information system on very DAS management system in the aspect of biophysical, soial, eonomical, and cultural. Therefore, it needs the improvement of DAS management which is supported by the result of research and development. The purpose of this research is to get the potency information and the possibility of sensitivity of the land resources in the frame of DAS management with biophisical land as the parameter. Sub DAS of Merawu (21,860 Ha) isas one of the parts of ‘bulu’ DAS Serayu with stream flow minimum 0,81 m3/second and maximum 108 m3/second. The sub DAS of Merawu as the part of ‘bulu’ Serayu has the type of climate A and B with annual rainfall approximatelly >2,000 mm and it can support everything in the stream flow of in order to prevent the flood. This ondition is caused by the permanent vegetation such as forest, underbrsuh or srub, tea garden, as well as multi – plantgarden that has around 40% happen in the ineptisol land, although precipitous slope and very precipitous (>25%). The technique of land conversation is good enough in its development, mainly in the dry section of the field by using ‘teras gundul’ and ‘teras bangku’ the society near Sub DAS of Merawu is densely populated, its is around 517 up to 827 persons/ square with their main profession as farmer and their income is around Rp 2.000.000 per year. Bya analysing the above DAS management, it an show that sub DAS of Merawu has the potency of water both for internal and external DAS consuming. The potency of using the land for farimng one season in length (class II, III, and IV) consists of around 50,8%. The development multy plant garden (25% area of DAS) is as the type of potential farming effort because of the diversity of both the result and time; besides it is also as the form of protection toward the effetive land. The possibility of sensitivity is too wide land which is susceptible toward the slide (land slide), mainly in the middle part of the DAS. The live dependee of land which strong enough is as the threat toward the future resoures conservation.

scholarly journals A New Approach for Planning M.C.W.H. Systems with Annual Rainfall-Runoff Data

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyros Giakoumakis ◽  
Alexis Skalieris
Keyword(s):  
Arid Regions ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Water Harvesting ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Aegean Islands ◽  
Linear Relationships

In the present study a new approach for planning Micro-Catchment Water Harvesting (M.C.W.H.) systems for irrigation in semi-arid regions such as the Aegean islands, is presented. This is a cheap solution for constructing infrastructure with zero energy cost in regions where water is scarce. The proposed approach introduces simple linear relationships for estimating the annual volume of water Vs collected mainly from the CA (Contributing Area), stored in the root zone (Infiltration Basin, IB), according to the annual&nbsp; rainfall and runoff depths, after having determined the ratio of areas of micro-catchment components, i.e., &lambda; = &Alpha;CA/&Alpha;&Iota;&Beta; and its whole area AMC This procedure was applied in Paros island of the Cyclades complex in the middle of the Aegean sea in east Mediterranean. Besides, income-cost analysis was performed via NPV method for almonds, peach and apricot trees.

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