Abstract

Abstract. Hydrologic similarity between catchments, derived from similarity in how catchments respond to precipitation input, is the basis for catchment classification, for transferability of information, for generalization of our hydrologic understanding and also for understanding the potential impacts of environmental change. An important question in this context is, how far can widely available hydrologic information (precipitation-temperature-streamflow data and generally available physical descriptors) be used to create a first order grouping of hydrologically similar catchments? We utilize a heterogeneous dataset of 280 catchments located in the Eastern US to understand hydrologic similarity in a 6-dimensional signature space across a region with strong environmental gradients. Signatures are defined as hydrologic response characteristics that provide insight into the hydrologic function of catchments. A Bayesian clustering scheme is used to separate the catchments into 9 homogeneous classes, which enable us to interpret hydrologic similarity with respect to similarity in climatic and landscape attributes across this region. We finally derive several hypotheses regarding controls on individual signatures from the analysis performed here.

Highlights

  • Catchments provide a sensible unit for a hydrological classification system

  • While the correlation between these two signatures is partially created by a smaller number of very high Slope of the Flow Duration Curve (SFDC) values, the correlation is considered during clustering as discussed in the methods section

  • The lack of a generally accepted catchment classification framework brought the question of what defines hydrologic similarity to the forefront of hydrologic science

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Summary

Introduction

Catchments provide a sensible (though not the only possible) unit for a hydrological classification system. Despite the degree of uniqueness and complexity that each catchment exhibits (Beven, 2000), we generally assume that some level of organization and a degree of predictability of the functional behavior of a catchment exists (Dooge, 1986). This organization may be a result of natural self-organization or the co-evolution of climate, soils, vegetation and topography (Sivapalan, 2005).

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