Connecting the power-law scaling structure of peak-discharges to spatially variable rainfall and catchment physical properties

Ayalew, Tibebu B.; Krajewski, Witold F.; Mantilla, Ricardo

doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2014.05.009

Cited by 60 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…It can be seen that the flood scaling exponent is always greater than the width function scaling exponent b ð Þ, which is 0.45 for the study basin as shown in Figure 1c. This particular result further confirms recent findings that showed h > b [Ayalew et al, 2014a[Ayalew et al, , 2014bMandapaka et al, 2009;Mantilla et al, 2006]. An additional insight that emerges from these results is that, contrary to findings from simulation-based studies that put the upper limit of the flood scaling exponent to one [e.g., Ayalew et al, 2014b;Gupta and Waymire, 1998;, the flood scaling exponent can be greater than one.…”

Section: Effects Of Excess Rainfall On the Flood Scaling Exponentcontrasting

confidence: 37%

“…Gupta et al [2010] define the width function as being equivalent to the streamflow response to an instantaneous rainfall that is instantaneously injected into channel-links and moves along the drainage network with constant velocity and without attenuation. Recent theoretical studies show that the scaling exponent of the width function maxima is the lower bound of the flood scaling exponent [Ayalew et al, 2014a[Ayalew et al, , 2014bMandapaka et al, 2009;Mantilla et al, 2006].…”

Section: Study Area and Data Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their analysis was based on the numerical simulation of hypothetical rainfall events under the assumption of spatially uniform rainfall, runoff coefficient, and hillslope overland flow velocity. Ayalew et al [2014a] later relaxed these assumptions by setting the variables to randomly vary in space from hillslope to hillslope and, most importantly, introduced a nonlinear hillslope in which hillslope overland flow velocity is assumed to be a nonlinear function of hillslope overland storage according to the Manning's Equation. Their study, which was based in the Cedar River basin (A % 17,000 km 2 ) in eastern Water Resources Research…”

Section: 1002/2014wr016258mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The availability of the radar-rainfall product limits our analysis to the 12 year period between 2002 and 2013. The radar-rainfall product has a spatial resolution of 4 3 4 km and a temporal resolution of 1 h. The product, which is provided nationally on the Hydrologic Rainfall Analysis Project (HRAP) grid, is extensively used with good success for hydrologic modeling purposes in the Iowa River basin and elsewhere [e.g., Ayalew et al, 2014aAyalew et al, , 2014bCunha et al, 2012;Kalin and Hantush, 2006].…”

Section: Study Area and Data Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a major departure from the peak discharge quantile based analysis used in the regional flood-frequency methodology, a number of rainfallrunoff event based studies were undertaken in an effort to describe the flood scaling parameters in terms of rainfall and catchment physical processes that transform rainfall to peak discharge [Ayalew et al, 2014a[Ayalew et al, , 2014bDi Lazzaro and Volpi, 2011;Furey and Gupta, 2005;Gupta, 2004;Gupta et al, 1996Gupta et al, , 2007Gupta et al, , 2010Mandapaka et al, 2009;Mantilla et al, 2006Mantilla et al, , 2011Morrison and Smith, 2001;Ogden and Dawdy, 2003]. These studies, which cover a range of theoretical and empirical studies, revealed that peak discharges from nested catchments exhibit scale-invariance with drainage area at the rainfall-runoff event scale and the relationship between the two exhibits the following power law relation:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analyzing the effects of excess rainfall properties on the scaling structure of peak discharges: Insights from a mesoscale river basin

Ayalew

Krajewski

Mantilla

2015

Water Resources Research

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Key theoretical and empirical results from the past two decades have established that peak discharges resulting from a single rainfall-runoff event in a nested watershed exhibit a power law, or scaling, relation to drainage area and that the parameters of the power law relation, henceforth referred to as the flood scaling exponent and intercept, change from event to event. To date, only two studies have been conducted using empirical data, both using data from the 21 km 2 Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed that is located in Mississippi, in an effort to uncover the physical processes that control the event-to-event variability of the flood scaling parameters. Our study expands the analysis to the mesoscale Iowa River basin (A 5 32,400 km 2 ), which is located in eastern Iowa, and provides additional insights into the physical processes that control the flood scaling parameters. Using 51 rainfall-runoff events that we identified over the 12 year period since 2002, we show how the duration and depth of excess rainfall, which is the portion of rainfall that contributes to direct runoff, control the flood scaling exponent and intercept. Moreover, using a diagnostic simulation study that is guided by evidence found in empirical data, we show that the temporal structure of excess rainfall has a significant effect on the scaling structure of peak discharges. These insights will contribute toward ongoing efforts to provide a framework for flood prediction in ungauged basins.

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Section: Effects Of Excess Rainfall On the Flood Scaling Exponentcontrasting

confidence: 37%

Section: Study Area and Data Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 1002/2014wr016258mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Area and Data Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analyzing the effects of excess rainfall properties on the scaling structure of peak discharges: Insights from a mesoscale river basin

Ayalew

Krajewski

Mantilla

2015

Water Resources Research

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Inferring changes in water cycle dynamics of intensively managed landscapes via the theory of time‐variant travel time distributions

et al. 2016

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Climatic trends and anthropogenic changes in land cover and land use are impacting the hydrology and water quality of streams at the field, watershed, and regional scales in complex ways. In poorly drained agricultural landscapes, subsurface drainage systems have been successful in increasing crop productivity by removing excess soil moisture. However, their hydroecological consequences are still debated in view of the observed increased concentrations of nitrate, phosphorus, and pesticides in many streams, as well as altered runoff volumes and timing. In this study, we employ the recently developed theory of time‐variant travel time distributions within the StorAge Selection function framework to quantify changes in water cycle dynamics resulting from the combined climate and land use changes. Our results from analysis of a subbasin in the Minnesota River Basin indicate a significant decrease in the mean travel time of water in the shallow subsurface layer during the growing season under current conditions compared to the pre‐1970s conditions. We also find highly damped year‐to‐year fluctuations in the mean travel time, which we attribute to the “homogenization” of the hydrologic response due to artificial drainage. The dependence of the mean travel time on the spatial heterogeneity of some soil characteristics as well as on the basin scale is further explored via numerical experiments. Simulations indicate that the mean travel time is independent of scale for spatial scales larger than approximately 200 km2, suggesting that hydrologic data from larger basins may be used to infer the average of smaller‐scale‐driven changes in water cycle dynamics.

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A geomorphic perspective on discharge–area relationships

Kadu,

Biswal

2024

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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It is well‐documented that the discharge‐area power‐law scaling exponent (θ) can be much lower than 1 during peak flow periods. A physical explanation for this phenomenon is generally given with the help of the channel network width function, which represents pure surface flow (PSF). When PSF ceases to dominate, θ is expected to increase due to the increasing contribution of mixed surface sub‐surface flow (MSSF) and approach 1. However, to our knowledge, no study thus far has conducted a systematic investigation of the variation of θ. In this study, we use a channel network morphology‐based routing model that considers both PSF and MSSF to investigate the variation of θ across the streamflow spectrum. The model captures the increasing trend of θ quite well during recession periods, attributable to the growing dominance of MSSF. We also demonstrate that the analysis of the discharge‐area scaling is further complicated by several factors, including spatio‐temporal variation of rainfall. The uniqueness of the model is that it suggests θ to assume values much greater than 1 because the flow in smaller basins decreases at a higher rate during late recession periods. Demonstrating this effect using observed data is difficult since obtaining sufficiently long recession curves is practically challenging. However, the predicted trend of θ is well supported by observed data when we perform percentile‐based discharge‐area scaling analysis. Our results thus indicate the possibility that a basin is not merely a sum of its hillslopes, with far‐reaching consequences for modelling hydrological and ecological phenomena.

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Connecting the power-law scaling structure of peak-discharges to spatially variable rainfall and catchment physical properties

Cited by 60 publications

References 44 publications

Analyzing the effects of excess rainfall properties on the scaling structure of peak discharges: Insights from a mesoscale river basin

Analyzing the effects of excess rainfall properties on the scaling structure of peak discharges: Insights from a mesoscale river basin

Inferring changes in water cycle dynamics of intensively managed landscapes via the theory of time‐variant travel time distributions

A geomorphic perspective on discharge–area relationships

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