Analyses of Monthly Discharges in Slovakia Using Hydrological Exploratory Methods

Abstract

Detailed analyses of hydrological data are necessary in order to prove changes in their character. This article focuses on an analysis of the average monthly discharges of 14 stage-discharge gauging stations in Slovakia. The measured period is from 1931 to 2016. The approaches used are hydrological exploration methods, which were created by hydrologists to describe the behavior of hydrological time series. The methods are used to identify a change-point using an analysis of any residuals, the Pettitt test, and an analysis of the relationship between the mean annual discharge deviations from the long-term annual discharge and the deviations of the average monthly discharge from the long-term average monthly discharge. A considerable number of change-points were identified in the 1970s and 1980s. The results of the analyses show changes in the hydrological regimes, but to confirm the accuracy of the outcomes, it is also necessary to examine other hydrological and meteorological elements such as, e.g., precipitation and the air temperature.