Sensitivity of Average Annual Runoff to Spatial Variability and Temporal Correlation of Rainfall

Abstract

This paper examines the sensitivity of annual area mean runoff calculations to the effects of spatial variability and temporal correlation of rainfall. The model used is based upon the hypothesis that the annual water balance is determined only by rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and soil water storage. A simple bucket hydrology model with a seasonally varying potential evapotranspiration is used with rainfall data measured at several sites on the Delmarva Peninsula. Annual area mean runoffs are calculated for three cases: 1) actual spatial variability among the rain gauge sites and temporal correlation between consecutive 1-min rainfall amounts are maintained (the actual case); 2) actual spatial variability among the sites is maintained but temporal correlation between the consecutive 1-min rainfall amounts is minimized (the site-shuffled case); and 3) both spatial variability and temporal correlation are ignored (the area-averaged case). The actual case represents the baseline for comparison with the other two cases. The annual a” mean runoffs show little sensitivity to spatial variability and temporal correlation for this model. Therefore, if finite soil permeability effects are ignored in favor of simple water storage capacity, then spatial variability and temporal correlation of rainfall appear to have little impact on the annual area mean runoff for the data considered in this study.