A new approach to account for the spatial variability of drainage density in rainfall-runoff modelling
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21701/bolgeomin.125.3.003Keywords:
drainage density, Western and High Cascades, width function, rainfall-runoff modelsAbstract
Definition of drainage density as the inverse of twice the hillslope-to-channel length allows the creation of maps based on Digital Terrain Analysis that are able to clearly reveal the sharp contrast between neighbouring geologic provinces. This contrast, which is deeply correlated to the patterns of landscape dissection, also rules key hydrologic variables such as residence times, hydraulic conductivities, runoff coefficients and sediment yield. Traditional approaches in rainfall runoff modelling, based on the geomorphological derivation of the distribution of contributing areas as a function of the distance from the outlet (width function), are able to account for the effects of drainage density variability on the timing of the hydrologic response (direct effect). However, they neglect the indirect effects of drainage density in terms of runoff potential. We propose a new method to merge in a single function both the distribution of contributing areas and the runoff potential. Derivation of this function (which we define as the Drainage Density Weighted Width Function) is shown for a basin located in a region where geomorphological and hydrological contrast is paradigmatic: this is the border region between the geologic provinces of the High and Western Cascades in Oregon, USA.
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