Infiltration on mountain slopes: a comparison of three environments

Harden, Carol P.; Scruggs, P.Delmas

doi:10.1016/s0169-555x(03)00129-6

Cited by 74 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The calibrated K s values also lie within the range of K s values observed at the plot scale in other studies (e.g. Robichaud, 2000;Harden and Scruggs, 2003;Stone et al, 2008;Langhans et al, 2011;Van den Putte et al, 2012). According to this result, it can be asserted that, as the scale effects are isolated and explicitly accounted for by the scaling parameters in the closure relation C, the calibrated K s values represent local (plot) scale values.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Hortonian runoff closure relations for geomorphologic response units: evaluation against field data

Vannametee

Karssenberg

Hendriks

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. This paper presents an evaluation of the closure relation for Hortonian runoff, proposed in Vannametee et al. (2012), that incorporates a scaling component to explicitly account for the process heterogeneity and scale effects in runoff generation for the real-world case studies. We applied the closure relation, which was embedded in an eventbased lumped rainfall-runoff model, to a 15 km 2 catchment in the French Alps. The catchment was disaggregated into a number of landform units, referred to as Geomorphologic Response Units (GRUs), to each of which the closure relation was applied. The scaling component in the closure relation was identified using the empirical relations between rainstorm characteristics, geometry, and local-scale measurable properties of the GRUs. Evaluation of the closure relation performance against the observed discharge shows that the hydrograph and discharge volume were quite satisfactorily simulated even without calibration. Performance of the closure relation can be mainly attributed to the use of scaling component, as it is shown that our closure relation outperforms a benchmark closure relation that lacks this scaling component. The discharge prediction is significantly improved when the closure relation is calibrated against the observed discharge, resulting in local-scale GRUproperties optimal for the predictions. Calibration was done by changing one local-scale observable, i.e. hydraulic conductivity (K s ), using a single pre-factor for the entire catchment. It is shown that the calibrated K s values are somewhat comparable to the observed K s values at a local scale in the study catchment. These results suggest that, in the absence of discharge observations, reasonable estimates of catchment-scale runoff responses can possibly be achieved with the observations at the sub-GRU (i.e. plot) scale. Our study provides a platform for the future development of lowdimensional, semi-distributed, physically based discharge models in ungauged catchments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Hortonian runoff closure relations for geomorphologic response units: evaluation against field data

Vannametee

Karssenberg

Hendriks

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…2b). The generalized soil properties database compiled by Rawls et al (1982) is used here as a reference for most of the hydraulic properties of the soils; however, it underestimates the saturated hydraulic conductivity when compared to other studies and measurements taken within the region of interest (Huffaker, 2002;Harden and Delmas Scruggs, 2003;Silver et al, 1994). This difference in saturated hydraulic conductivity, which are generally much higher than those listed in Rawls et al (1982), has been attributed to the abundance of organic matter that increases soil drainage and infiltration volumes in wet montane and tropical environments (Harden and Delmas Scruggs, 2003;Knapp, 1978).…”

Section: Surface Data and Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The generalized soil properties database compiled by Rawls et al (1982) is used here as a reference for most of the hydraulic properties of the soils; however, it underestimates the saturated hydraulic conductivity when compared to other studies and measurements taken within the region of interest (Huffaker, 2002;Harden and Delmas Scruggs, 2003;Silver et al, 1994). This difference in saturated hydraulic conductivity, which are generally much higher than those listed in Rawls et al (1982), has been attributed to the abundance of organic matter that increases soil drainage and infiltration volumes in wet montane and tropical environments (Harden and Delmas Scruggs, 2003;Knapp, 1978). Other specific characteristics of the soils present in the Mameyes Basin have been documented in previous studies: Harden and Delmas Scruggs (2003) observed a very high lateral subsurface flow parallel to the slope; Silver et al (1994) measured a decrease of hydraulic conductivity with depth, coupled with an increase in bulk density values; and Simon et al (1990) documented a clayrich horizon at 50 cm in dioritic soils.…”

Section: Surface Data and Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This difference in saturated hydraulic conductivity, which are generally much higher than those listed in Rawls et al (1982), has been attributed to the abundance of organic matter that increases soil drainage and infiltration volumes in wet montane and tropical environments (Harden and Delmas Scruggs, 2003;Knapp, 1978). Other specific characteristics of the soils present in the Mameyes Basin have been documented in previous studies: Harden and Delmas Scruggs (2003) observed a very high lateral subsurface flow parallel to the slope; Silver et al (1994) measured a decrease of hydraulic conductivity with depth, coupled with an increase in bulk density values; and Simon et al (1990) documented a clayrich horizon at 50 cm in dioritic soils. The soil bulk density measured within this basin covers a range from 600 kg m −3 for the first 30 cm and 1300 kg m −3 for deeper layers (Silver et al, 1994;Huffaker, 2002).…”

Section: Surface Data and Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bedrock is located at a depth of 8 m or deeper (Simon et al, 1990) and is considered to not affect a shallow slope failure mechanism. Because in tRIBS-VEGGIE we can allow for both variable unit weight of soil and saturated hydraulic conductivity with depth, we have considered various experimental setups based on one or a combination of the following three possible approaches: (1) allowing for a variable unit weight of soil and saturated hydraulic conductivity, which decreases with depth; (2) keeping both of them constant with depth; and (3) varying the anisotropy ratio a r [-] (Ivanov et al, 2008a, b;Sivandran, 2012), a parameter in the model used to enhance the lateral redistribution of soil moisture, which has been reported to be significant in the Mameyes Basin (Harden and Delmas Scruggs, 2003).…”

Section: Surface Data and Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physically based modeling of rainfall-triggered landslides: a case study in the Luquillo forest, Puerto Rico

Lepore

Arnone

Noto

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. This paper presents the development of a rainfalltriggered landslide module within an existing physically based spatially distributed ecohydrologic model. The model, tRIBS-VEGGIE (Triangulated Irregular Networks-based Real-time Integrated Basin Simulator and Vegetation Generator for Interactive Evolution), is capable of a sophisticated description of many hydrological processes; in particular, the soil moisture dynamics are resolved at a temporal and spatial resolution required to examine the triggering mechanisms of rainfall-induced landslides. The validity of the tRIBS-VEGGIE model to a tropical environment is shown with an evaluation of its performance against direct observations made within the study area of Luquillo Forest.The newly developed landslide module builds upon the previous version of the tRIBS landslide component. This new module utilizes a numerical solution to the Richards' equation (present in tRIBS-VEGGIE but not in tRIBS), which better represents the time evolution of soil moisture transport through the soil column. Moreover, the new landslide module utilizes an extended formulation of the factor of safety (FS) to correctly quantify the role of matric suction in slope stability and to account for unsaturated conditions in the evaluation of FS.The new modeling framework couples the capabilities of the detailed hydrologic model to describe soil moisture dynamics with the infinite slope model, creating a powerful tool for the assessment of rainfall-triggered landslide risk.

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Relict landscape resistance to dissection by upstream migrating knickpoints

Brocard

Willenbring

Miller

et al. 2016

J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf.

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Expanses of subdued topographies are common at high elevation in mountain ranges. They are often interpreted as relict landscapes and are expected to be replaced by steeper topography as erosion proceeds. Preservation of such relict fragments can merely reflect the fact that it takes time to remove any preexisting topography. However, relict fragments could also possess intrinsic characteristics that make them resilient to dissection. We document here the propagation of a wave of dissection across an uplifted relict landscape in Puerto Rico. Using 10Be‐26Al burial dating on cave sediments, we show that uplift started 4 Ma and that river knickpoints have since migrated very slowly across the landscape. Modern detrital 10Be erosion rates are consistent with these long‐term rates of knickpoint retreat. Analysis of knickpoint distribution, combined with visual observations along the streambeds, indicates that incision by abrasion and plucking is so slow that bedrock weathering becomes a competing process of knickpoint retreat. The studied rivers flow over a massive stock of quartz diorite surrounded by an aureole of metavolcanic rocks. Earlier studies have shown that vegetation over the relict topography efficiently limits erosion, allowing for the formation of a thick saprolite underneath. Such slow erosion reduces streambed load fluxes delivered to the knickpoints, as well as bed load grain size. Both processes limit abrasion. Compounding the effect of slow abrasion, wide joint spacing in the bedrock makes plucking infrequent. Thus, the characteristics of the relict upstream landscape have a direct effect on stream incision farther downstream, reducing the celerity at which the relict, subdued landscape is dissected. We conclude that similar top‐down controls on river incision rate may help many relict landscapes to persist amidst highly dissected topographies.

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Infiltration on mountain slopes: a comparison of three environments

Cited by 74 publications

References 16 publications

Hortonian runoff closure relations for geomorphologic response units: evaluation against field data

Hortonian runoff closure relations for geomorphologic response units: evaluation against field data

Physically based modeling of rainfall-triggered landslides: a case study in the Luquillo forest, Puerto Rico

Relict landscape resistance to dissection by upstream migrating knickpoints

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