Streamflow Recession Analysis Research Articles

Evaluation of seasonal catchment dynamic storage components using an analytical streamflow duration curve model

AbstractDynamic storage refers to groundwater storage that is sensitive to rainfall infiltration, streamflow generation, evapotranspiration, and other variables involving groundwater gain or loss. It plays a crucial role in habitat maintenance and the mitigation of environmental impacts on regional hydrological behaviors. Dynamic storage can be separated into direct storage, which contributes to the river channel, and indirect storage, which is insensitive to streamflow. The combination of diverse approaches would provide an estimation of the two storage types. This study estimated optimal baseflow coefficients and direct storage in the wet and dry seasons using an analytical streamflow duration curve model in eight catchments of the Choushui River Basin from 2013 to 2017. The water balance approach was then combined to assess indirect storage for evaluating seasonal dynamic storage components. The model applicability for each catchment of the Choushui River Basin in the wet and dry seasons was assessed using the similarity between observed and simulated flow duration curves, namely Kolmogorov–Smirnov distance. We also applied it to assess the performance difference between model and streamflow recession analysis, which is typically used to estimate baseflow coefficients. The results demonstrated that seasonal differences in baseflow coefficients were related to catchment characteristics as well as the aquifer extent through which groundwater flows. The model utilizing maximum likelihood estimation exhibited superior performance than streamflow recession analysis and was highly applicable in our study area in wet and dry seasons. Dynamic storage components demonstrated a considerable difference in the additional groundwater storage between dry and wet seasons and a loss of direct storage was observed in most catchments during the dry season.

A statistical approach for identifying factors governing streamflow recession behaviour

AbstractCatchment storage‐release relation has been widely studied using the parameters of streamflow recession analysis. The governing factors of the recession parameters are poorly understood, particularly in snow‐dominated regions. Here, we tailor a newly developed statistical approach, marginal contribution feature importance, to a hydrologic context, and couple it with random forests, in order to investigate the governing physical and climatic factors of catchment recession behaviour. The coupled approach can incorporate the interactions among catchment climatic and physical attributes. In a large sample hydrology study, we identify and compare the governing factors of recession parameters, in rainfall versus snowmelt‐dominated catchments, and in medium‐size versus large catchments, across more than 1000 catchments in United States and Canada. Results show that streamflow recession behaviour, particularly recession nonlinearity, strongly depend on belowground attributes and slope in rain‐dominated medium size catchments, and strongly depend on slope and annual maximum snow water equivalent in snow‐dominated medium size catchments. As catchment scale increases (>1000 km2), the attributes related to the magnitude and timing of input water (e.g., water surplus, aridity index, maximum snow water equivalent) dictates the streamflow recession behaviour and the importance of belowground attributes is dropped. Furthermore, recession nonlinearity generally increases with an increase in catchment size. The findings of this study help improve our understanding of the governing factors and the interpretation of the spatial variability of recession behaviours. Such understanding could inform the development of a generalizable process‐based framework for estimating the sensitivity of catchment storage‐release relation to climate change in different environmental settings.

Impact of climate and NDVI changes on catchment storage–discharge dynamics in southern Taiwan

This study used streamflow recession analysis to assess the changes in the groundwater–streamflow relationships using streamflow data. The groundwater response to climate and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) changes was considered as a variable in the recession analysis. The integrated impact could thus be compared to assess the consistency of these effects on the catchment discharge processes. The results showed that the recession characteristics is linked to regional topography and streamflow condition. Variation of storage–discharge sensitivities in most catchments was not linked to the variation of groundwater due to the lower capacity of groundwater contribution. The quantified impacts aided in assessing the relationship between climate, land cover, groundwater storage and discharge. This study provides a simple explanation of effects of environmental coevolution on storage–discharge processes.

Estimation of hydrogeological parameters using physically based hydrological modelling and lithology data in ungauged creek catchments of southern Taiwan

ABSTRACT Streamflow recession analysis is widely used for estimating catchment-scale hydrogeological parameters in gauged catchments because of its low cost, ease of use, and efficiency in terms of results. In this work, however, the same methodology was applied to ungauged creek catchments, where low recession flows were simulated using physically based, semi-distributed, continuous hydrological modelling. Moreover, a combination approach was used to reasonably estimate the effective aquifer depth (D) with borehole lithology and digital elevation model data. The estimated hydraulic conductivity (k) values ranged between 10–5 and 10–3 m s–1, and they were comparable with the results of a field test. By contrast, the specific yield (Sy ) values obtained through streamflow recession analysis (10–7 to 10–5) were lower than the results of the field tests at different aquifer depths. However, the Sy values obtained for alluvial catchments (on the order of 10–5) were comparable. Thus, the results of the comparison support the application of the streamflow recession analysis scheme for estimating hydrogeological parameters in ungauged creek catchments.

Decorrelation is not dissociation: There is no means to entirely decouple the Brutsaert-Nieber parameters in streamflow recession analysis

The coefficient of the Brutsaert-Nieber equation cannot provide information on streamflow dynamics independently because its value depends on the exponent. One way to address this challenge is to compute the coefficient after fixing the exponent, which may involve fitting errors. A recent study has therefore adopted a method to decorrelate the coefficient from the exponent. Here, I argue that the decorrelation method does not dissociate the Brutsaert-Nieber parameters or make them independent of each other. Analysis of real and synthetic recession curves suggests that for a wide variety of scenarios the fixed exponent method is preferable to the decorrelation method.

Increasing non‐linearity of the storage‐discharge relationship in sub‐Arctic catchments

AbstractThe Arctic is warming at an unprecedented rate. We hypothesis that as seasonally frozen soils thaw and recede in extent as a response to this warming, flow path diversity and thus hydrologic connectivity increases. This enhanced hydrologic connectivity then increases the non‐linearity of the storage‐discharge relationship in a catchment. The objective of this study is to test this hypothesis by quantifying trends and spatio‐temporal differences in the degree of linearity in the storage‐discharge relationships for 16 catchments within Northern Sweden from 1950 to 2018. We demonstrate a clear increase in non‐linearity of the storage‐discharge relationship over time for all catchments with 75% showing a statistically significant increase in non‐linearity. Spring has significantly more linear storage‐discharge relationships than summer for most catchments (75%) supporting the idea that seasonally frozen soils with a low degree of hydrological connectivity have a linear storage‐discharge relationship. For the period considered, spring also showed greater change in storage‐discharge relationship trends than summer signifying that changes in recessions are primarily occurring during the thawing period. Separate storage‐discharge analyses combined with preceding winter conditions demonstrated that especially cold winters with little snow yielded springs and summers with more linear storage‐discharge relationships. We show that streamflow recession analysis reflects ongoing hydrological change of an arctic landscape as well as offering new metrics for tracking change across arctic and sub‐arctic landscapes.

Streamflow Recession Analysis Using Water Height

AbstractRecession analysis is widely used for characterizing aquifer and basin properties based on the falling limb of the hydrograph. However, recession analysis using streamflow discharge requires a relationship (the rating curve) between simultaneous measurements of water height, h, and discharge, Q, across a wide range of flows, which is expensive to obtain, and changes in time. We leverage the relationship between h and Q (typical power law) to perform recession analysis using h directly, thus permitting identification of transient flow regimes, where only h is available. Recession analysis evaluates the rate of change in discharge, −dQ/dt, as a function of discharge, Q, in a bilogarithmic plot where the slope, b, contains information about aquifer characteristics. While values of b are not conserved when replacing Q with h, we find that the variability in values of b within and between events is captured in recession analysis for both Q and h. For example, when considering individual recessions from a large number of watersheds, a change from a smaller b at high discharge/stage to a larger b at lower discharge/stage occurs in most watersheds and suggests a transition to a more long‐lasting, and less drought‐sensitive, baseflow regime. With the advent of low‐cost reliable pressure loggers, as well as satellites that provide global reporting of river stage, recession analysis using water height expands the number of river systems where recession analysis can be conducted and provides the potential for insights into the variability of watershed drainage characteristics without the need for a discharge record.

A Parsimonious Empirical Approach to Streamflow Recession Analysis and Forecasting

AbstractFor more than a century, the study of streamflow recession has been dominated by seemingly physically based parametric methods that make assumptions on the nonlinear nature of the hydrograph recession. In practice, several studies have shown that various degrees of nonlinearity occur in the same time series and that parametric methods can underfit nonlinear recession patterns. As a result, these methods are often applied empirically to each recession segment. We propose a parsimonious data‐driven model, EDM‐Simplex, with two objectives: forecasting recession and characterizing its nonlinear behavior. We evaluate the new model through a global sensitivity analysis applied to three distinctive hydrograph series from a heterogeneous karstic catchment. The results show excellent 1‐day‐ahead forecasting performance (median Nash and Sutcliffe efficiency > 0.99) for all time series with four recession extraction methods. The sensitivity analysis also showed that empirical nonlinearity, that is, sensitivity to initial conditions, is best estimated through the absolute forecast performance and its decline over time. This indicator leads to different interpretations of nonlinearity compared to previous methods but is just as sensitive to the choice of recession extraction method. In particular, when forecasts were made for recession segments containing early stages of recession or flow anomalies, the upstream recession was significantly more linear than the downstream recession hydrographs affected by the karst. Consequently, our results support future research to interpret observed nonlinearities as a function of the catchment hydrological states for better integration of empirical, physical‐based, and operational approaches to recession analysis.

An Empirical Reevaluation of Streamflow Recession Analysis at the Continental Scale

AbstractStreamflow recession analysis is a widely used hydrologic tool that uses readily available discharge measurements to estimate otherwise unmeasurable watershed‐scale properties, predict low flows, and parameterize many lumped hydrologic models. Traditional methods apply the simplifying assumptions of outflow from a Boussinesq aquifer, which predicts the slope of the recession curve relating streamflow to its derivative in log‐log space to decrease from early‐stage to late‐stage recession. However, this prediction has not been validated in actual watersheds. Also, recent studies have shown that slopes of observed recession events are often much greater than traditional methods that predict with data point clouds. We analyze recession behavior of 1,027 streams from across the continental United States for periods of 10 to 118 years, identifying over 155,000 individual recession events. We find that the average slope of observed recession events is greater than that of the point cloud for all streams. Further, recession slopes of observed events decrease with time in only 10% of cases and instead increase with time in 74% of cases. We identify only nine watersheds where observed streamflow behavior often conforms to the predictions of traditional recession analysis, each of which is arid and flat with low permeability. Analysis of our extensive empirical results with a regionalization of catchment hydrologic characteristics indicates that heterogeneity of subsurface flow paths increases the nonlinearity and convexity of observed recession, likely as a function of watershed memory. The practical implications of our analysis are that streamflow is more stable during periods of extended drought than generally predicted.

An Empirical Reevaluation of Streamflow Recession Analysis at the Continental Scale

An Empirical Reevaluation of Streamflow Recession Analysis at the Continental Scale

Using GRACE in a streamflow recession to determine drainable water storage in the Mississippi River basin

Abstract. The study of the relationship between water storage and runoff generation has long been a focus of the hydrological sciences. NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission provides monthly depth-integrated information on terrestrial water storage anomalies derived from time-variable gravity observations. As the first basin-scale storage measurement technique, these data offer potentially novel insight into the storage–discharge relationship. Here, we apply GRACE data in a streamflow recession analysis with river discharge measurements across several subdomains of the Mississippi River basin. Nonlinear regression analysis was used for 12 watersheds to determine that the fraction of baseflow in streams during non-winter months varies from 52 % to 75 % regionally. Additionally, the first quantitative estimate of absolute drainable water storage was estimated. For the 2002–2014 period, the drainable storage in the Mississippi River basin ranged from 2900±400 to 3600±400 km3.

Master Recession Curve Parameterization Tool (MRCPtool): Different approaches to recession curve analysis

Streamflow recession analysis is crucial for understanding how catchments release water in periods of drought and therefore is important for water resources planning and management. Despite there being several theories on how to model recession curves, few studies compare the different approaches to that problem. In this work, we developed the Master Recession Curve Parameterization tool (MRCPtool), which brings together a set of automated methods for the analysis of recession periods based only on streamflow data. The methods include: (i) hydrograph separation using numerical filters; (ii) automatic extraction of recession periods; (iii) creation of the MRC with the matching strip method; (iv) creation of the MRC for different flow classes defined from the flow duration curve; (v) analysis of flow recession rates (−dQ∕dt) as a function of flow (Q) and (vi) creation of the MRC from simulated recession curves with different analytical approaches, including linear and nonlinear models. The MRCPtool contains a graphical user interface developed in MATLAB software that facilitates the analysis of streamflow datasets. Finally, we present an example application of the MRCPtool using a streamflow dataset of 44 years. The MRCPtool is an open source tool that can be downloaded from the site: http://www.labhidro.ufsc.br/static/software/MRCPtool.rar.

The role of landscape properties, storage and evapotranspiration on variability in streamflow recessions in a boreal catchment

Streamflow recession analysis provides valuable insights into catchment functioning that can be related to runoff generation, storage retention and baseflow dynamics. As an integrated characteristic, recession analysis is particularly useful in catchment comparison studies to help explain drivers of spatial and temporal variability in hydrological behavior. Here, five years of hourly streamflow data from 14, partly nested, catchments within a 68 km2 boreal forest landscape in Northern Sweden were used to explore spatiotemporal variation in hydrological processes through recession analysis. The aim of this study was to better understand spatial variation in runoff generation and storage-discharge dynamics across the landscape, as well as the relation to landscape properties. Due to high collinearity between variables, partial least square regression was used to quantify the associations between recession characteristics and catchment properties, as well as to identify key variables controlling recession behavior. We analyzed recession characteristics using both an aggregated approach including all recession data and individual recession events. The analyses based on individual recession events, indicated that catchment topography, quantified by indices such as mean slope or elevation above the stream network, is a primary control on the recession behavior during relatively high flows, whereas catchment area gains importance when flows are relatively low. The proportion of sediment and deep soils also controlled recession behavior. Furthermore, we found that recession characteristics are influenced by both evapotranspiration (ET) and proxies of antecedent catchment storage, but that the patterns were different depending on catchment properties. ET was less influential in catchments with deeper soils and larger catchment area. Shifts in recession rates were primarily related to variation in storage, with faster streamflow recessions occurring during periods with low storage. The results demonstrate the influence of catchment properties on recession behavior, and we found great value in analyzing individual recession events for an increased understanding of spatial and temporal recession characteristics. When recession properties were lumped together, the relationships to catchment characteristics were obscured. This indicates the value of more detailed analyses, at least under the strongly seasonal hydroclimatic conditions of this site.

Estimation of Active Stream Network Length in a Hilly Headwater Catchment Using Recession Flow Analysis

Varying active stream network lengths (ASNL) is a common phenomenon, especially in hilly headwater catchment. However, direct observations of ASNL are difficult to perform in mountainous catchments. Regarding the correlation between active stream networks and stream recession flow characteristics, we developed a new method to estimate the ASNL, under different wetness conditions, of a catchment by using streamflow recession analysis as defined by Brutsaert and Nieber in 1977. In our study basin, the Sagehen Creek catchment, we found that aquifer depth is related to a dimensionless parameter defined by Brutsaert in 1994 to represent the characteristic slope magnitude for a catchment. The results show that the estimated ASNL ranges between 9.8 and 43.9 km which is consistent with direct observations of dynamic stream length, ranging from 12.4 to 32.5 km in this catchment. We also found that the variation of catchment parameters between different recession events determines the upper boundary characteristic of recession flow plot on a log–log scale.

Catchment water storage variation with elevation

One of the most important functions of catchments is the storage of water. Catchment storagebuffers meteorological extremes and interannual streamflow variability, controls the partitioningbetween evaporation and runoff, and influences transit times of water. Hydrogeological data toestimate storage are usually scarce and seldom available for a larger set of catchments. This studyfocused on storage in prealpine and alpine catchments, using a set of 21 Swiss catchments comprising different elevation ranges. Catchment storage comparisons depend on storage definitions.This study defines different types of storage including definitions of dynamic and mobile catchment storage. We then estimated dynamic storage using four methods, water balance analysis,streamflow recession analysis, calibration of a bucket‐type hydrological model Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavdelning model (HBV), and calibration of a transfer function hydrographseparation model using stable isotope observations. The HBV model allowed quantifying the contributions of snow, soil and groundwater storages compared to the dynamic catchment storage.With the transfer function hydrograph separation model both dynamic and mobile storage wasestimated. Dynamic storage of one catchment estimated by the four methods differed up toone order of magnitude. Nevertheless, the storage estimates ranked similarly among the 21catchments. The largest dynamic and mobile storage estimates were found in high‐elevationcatchments. Besides snow, groundwater contributed considerably to this larger storage.Generally, we found that with increasing elevation the relative contribution to the dynamic catchmentstorage increased for snow, decreased for soil, but remained similar for groundwater storage.

HYDRORECESSION: A Matlab toolbox for streamflow recession analysis

Streamflow recession analysis from observed hydrographs allows to extract information about the storage-discharge relationship of a catchment and some of their groundwater hydraulic properties. The HYDRORECESSION toolbox, presented in this paper, is a graphical user interface for Matlab and it was developed to analyse streamflow recession curves with the support of different tools. The software extracts hydrograph recessions segments with three different methods (Vogel, Brutsaert and Aksoy) that are later analysed with four of the most common models to simulate recession curves (Maillet, Boussinesq, Coutagne and Wittenberg) and it includes four parameter-fitting techniques (linear regression, lower envelope, data binning and mean squared error). HYDRORECESSION offers tools to parameterize linear and nonlinear storage-outflow relationships and it is useful for regionalization purposes, catchment classification, baseflow separation, hydrological modeling and low flows prediction. HYDRORECESSION is freely available for non-commercial and academic purposes and is available at Matlab File Exchange (http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/51332-hydroecession).

Investigating the role of geology in the hydrological response of Mediterranean catchments prone to flash-floods: Regional modelling study and process understanding

Summary In this study, a regional distributed hydrological model is used to perform long-term and flash-flood event simulations, over the Cevennes–Vivarais region (south of France). The objective is to improve our understanding on the role played by geology on the hydrological processes of catchments during two past flash-flood events. This modelling work is based on Vannier et al. (“Regional estimation of catchment-scale soil properties by means of streamflow recession analysis for use in distributed hydrological models”, Hydrological Processes , 2014), where streamflow recessions are analysed to estimate the thickness and hydraulic conductivity of weathered rock layers, depending on the geological nature of catchments. Weathered rock layers are thus implemented into the hydrological model CVN-p, and the contribution of these layers is assessed during flash-flood events simulations as well as during inter-event periods. The model is used without any calibration, to test hypotheses on the active hydrological processes. The results point out two different hydrological behaviours, depending on the geology: on crystalline rocks (granite and gneiss), the addition of a weathered rock layer considerably improves the simulated discharges, during flash-flood events as well as during recession periods, and makes the model able to remarkably reproduce the observed streamflow dynamics. For other geologies (schists especially), the benefits are real, but not sufficient to properly simulate the observed streamflow dynamics. These results probably underline the existence of poorly known processes (flow paths, non-linear spilling process) associated with the planar structure of schisty rocks. On a methodological point of view, this study proposes a simple way to account for the additional storage associated with each geological entity, through the addition of a weathered porous rock layer situated below the traditionally-considered upper soil horizons, and shows its applicability and benefits for the simulation of flash flood events at the regional scale.

A catchment as a simple dynamical system: Characterization by the streamflow component approach

Summary The simple dynamical system approach was implemented to analyze, explain and simulate streamflow fluxes in diverse seasonal hydrological conditions within the forested Padež stream catchment in SW Slovenia. The catchment is characterized by the flushing, torrential hydrological response conditioned by the flysch geological settings of a low hydraulic conductivity. Consequently, the streamflow formation is not controlled solely by the deeper subsurface catchment storage but is also strongly influenced by the rainfall–runoff that bypasses the deeper subsurface part of the total catchment storage. Therefore, fast component of the streamflow is identified using two-component hydrograph separation; the component recession behavior is described by a separate sensitivity function and used in a simple model to simulate the streamflow. According to the simulation results, the Padež stream catchment behaves primarily like a deeper subsurface storage-dependent system during most of the hydrological conditions. When rainfall intensities increase (rainfall intensities close to 10 mm/h or higher), triggering of the secondary streamflow formation mechanism described by separate, bypassing flow sensitivity function becomes evident and causes fast hydrograph formation with steeply rising and falling limbs. To be able to implement the modeling concept for streamflow predictions, the rainfall losses, most likely associated with interception losses not covered under the potential evapotranspiration calculation, would have to be more thoroughly analyzed through rainfall interception measurements. Our study shows the possible way that two hydrological concepts, the streamflow recession analysis and the two-component hydrograph separation based on relatively easily measurable tracers, such as electrical conductivity, could be combined for analyzing streamflow fluxes.

Interpreting characteristic drainage timescale variability across Kilombero Valley, Tanzania

AbstractWe explore seasonal variability and spatiotemporal patterns in characteristic drainage timescale (K) estimated from river discharge records across the Kilombero Valley in central Tanzania. K values were determined using streamflow recession analysis with a Brutsaert–Nieber solution to the linearized Boussinesq equation. Estimated K values were variable, comparing between wet and dry seasons for the relatively small catchments draining upland positions. For the larger catchments draining through valley bottoms, K values were typically longer and more consistent across seasons. Variations in K were compared with long‐term averaged, Moderate‐resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer‐derived monthly evapotranspiration. Although the variations in K were potentially related to evapotranspiration, the influence of data quality and analysis procedure could not be discounted. As such, even though recession analysis offers a potential approach to explore aquifer release timescales and thereby gain insight to a region's hydrology to inform water resources management, care must be taken when interpreting spatiotemporal shifts in K in connection with process representation in regions like the Kilombero Valley. © 2014 The Authors. Hydrological Processes published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Straight thinking about groundwater recession

AbstractWhile in catchment and hillslope hydrology a more nuanced approach is now taken to streamflow recession analysis, in the context of major aquifers it is commonly still assumed that the groundwater head recession rate will take exponential form, an idea originally proposed in the 19th Century. However it is shown here that, in early times, the groundwater head recession in a major aquifer should take an almost straight line form with a rate approximately equal to the long‐term recharge rate divided by the aquifer storage coefficient. The length of this phase can be estimated from an analytical expression derived in the paper which depends on the aquifer diffusivity, length scale, and the position of the monitoring point. A transitional phase then leads to an exponential phase after some critical time which is independent of the position of the monitoring point. Major aquifers in a state of periodic quasi‐steady state are expected to have rates of groundwater flux recession which deviate little from the average rate of groundwater recharge. Where quasi‐exponential groundwater declines are observed in nature, their form may be diagnostic of particular types of aquifer properties and/or boundary effects, such as proximity to drainage boundaries, variations in transmissivity with hydraulic head, storage changes due to pumping, nonequilibrium flow at a range of spatial and temporal scales, and variations in specific yield with depth. Recession analysis has applicability to a range of groundwater problems and is powerful way of gaining insight into the hydrologic functioning of an aquifer.