Fully Automated Objective‐Based Method for Master Recession Curve Separation

Abstract

The fully automated objective-based method for master recession curve (MRC) separation was developed by using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code. The core of the program code is used to construct an MRC by using the adapted matching strip method (Posavec et al. 2006). Criteria for separating the MRC into two or three segments are determined from the flow-duration curve and are represented as the probable range of percent of flow rate duration. Successive separations are performed automatically on two and three MRCs using sets of percent of flow rate duration from selected ranges and an optimal separation model scenario, having the highest average coefficient of determination R(2), is selected as the most appropriate one. The resulting separated master recession curves are presented graphically, whereas the statistics are presented numerically, all in separate sheets. Examples of field data obtained from two springs in Istria, Croatia, are used to illustrate its application. The freely available Excel spreadsheet and VBA program ensures the ease of use and applicability for larger data sets.

Applicability Assessment of Estimation Methods for Baseflow Recession Constants in Small Forest Catchments

“…Efforts have also been made to automate the graphical techniques to analyze long-term streamflow data to avoid subjectivity as much as possible and to provide objective criteria [8,12]. With these efforts, master recession curves can be quickly obtained through various programs, and non-experts can easily analyze recession characteristics.…”

“…Several researchers defined baseflow as groundwater outflow [6,7], whereas others defined baseflow as streamflow that comes from groundwater or other delayed components [2,4,8]. The latter definition of baseflow that includes other delayed streamflow and groundwater outflow was chosen because this paper was conducted to analyze direct runoff and baseflow that are directly related to fresh water supply in the upper stream.…”

“…They were used to find the master recession curves that could be representative of the various recession properties affected by many factors [8]. However, these methods require lengthy analysis.…”

Estimation of Groundwater Mean Residence Time in Unconfined Karst Aquifers Using Recession Curves

“…Formerly, this method has been carried out manually by plotting of individual recessions on tracing papers. However, automated techniques have been developed in recent years (e.g., Lamb and Beven, 1997;Rutledge, 1998;Posavec et al, 2006Posavec et al, , 2010Gregor and Malík, 2012) that significantly facilitate the procedure.…”

“…In surface-water hydrology, constructing the master recession curve is a routine step in base-flow studies. However, the master curve has been also constructed and used for karst springs (e.g., Angelini and Dragoni, 1997;Desmarais and Rojstaczer, 2002;Posavec et al, 2006Posavec et al, , 2010Doctor, 2008;Malík and Vojtková , 2012;Gregor and Malík, 2012).…”