Climate and terrain factors explaining streamflow response and recession in Australian catchments

Abstract. Daily streamflow data were analysed to assess which climate and terrain factors best explain streamflow response in 183 Australian catchments. Assessed descriptors of catchment response included the parameters of fitted baseflow models, and baseflow index (BFI), average quick flow and average baseflow derived by baseflow separation. The variation in response between catchments was compared with indicators of catchment climate, morphology, geology, soils and land use. Spatial coherence in the residual unexplained variation was investigated using semi-variogram techniques. A linear reservoir model (one parameter; recession coefficient) produced baseflow estimates as good as those obtained using a non-linear reservoir (two parameters) and for practical purposes was therefore considered an appropriate balance between simplicity and explanatory performance. About a third (27–34%) of the spatial variation in recession coefficients and BFI was explained by catchment climate indicators, with another 53% of variation being spatially correlated over distances of 100–150 km, probably indicative of substrate characteristics not captured by the available soil and geology data. The shortest recession half-times occurred in the driest catchments and were attributed to intermittent occurrence of fast-draining (possibly perched) groundwater. Most (70–84%) of the variation in average baseflow and quick flow was explained by rainfall and climate characteristics; another 20% of variation was spatially correlated over distances of 300–700 km, possibly reflecting a combination of terrain and climate factors. It is concluded that catchment streamflow response can be predicted quite well on the basis of catchment climate alone. The prediction of baseflow recession response should be improved further if relevant substrate properties were identified and measured.

[1]  Andrew W. Western,et al.  A rational function approach for estimating mean annual evapotranspiration , 2004 .

[2]  H. Akaike Statistical predictor identification , 1970 .

[3]  V. Singh,et al.  Application and testing of the simple rainfall-runoff model SIMHYD , 2002 .

[4]  Günter Blöschl,et al.  Regionalisation of catchment model parameters , 2004 .

[5]  P. E. O'connell,et al.  IAHS Decade on Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB), 2003–2012: Shaping an exciting future for the hydrological sciences , 2003 .

[6]  Peter B. Hairsine,et al.  Reforestation, water availability and stream salinity: A multi-scale analysis in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia , 2007 .

[7]  Tom G. Chapman,et al.  Modelling stream recession flows , 2003, Environ. Model. Softw..

[8]  G. SCALE ISSUES IN HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING : A REVIEW , 2006 .

[9]  L. Tallaksen A review of baseflow recession analysis , 1995 .

[10]  D. Brandes,et al.  BASE FLOW RECESSION RATES, LOW FLOWS, AND HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF SMALL WATERSHEDS IN PENNSYLVANIA, USA 1 , 2005 .

[11]  T. McMahon,et al.  Evaluation of automated techniques for base flow and recession analyses , 1990 .

[12]  H. Wittenberg Baseflow recession and recharge as nonlinear storage processes , 1999 .

[13]  A. Jakeman,et al.  How much complexity is warranted in a rainfall‐runoff model? , 1993 .

[14]  Hubert H. G. Savenije,et al.  Model complexity control for hydrologic prediction , 2008 .

[15]  Jeffrey G. Arnold,et al.  Regional estimation of base flow for the conterminous United States by hydrologic landscape regions , 2008 .

[16]  Thorsten Wagener,et al.  Parameter estimation and regionalization for continuous rainfall-runoff models including uncertainty , 2006 .

[17]  Tom G. Chapman,et al.  A comparison of algorithms for stream flow recession and baseflow separation , 1999 .

[18]  W. Brutsaert,et al.  Recession characteristics of groundwater outflow and base flow from mountainous watersheds , 1988 .

[19]  Jorge L. Peña-Arancibia,et al.  Water balance estimates from satellite observations over the Murray-Darling Basin , 2008 .

[20]  Murray C. Peel,et al.  National Land and Water Resources Audit Theme 1-Water Availability Extension of Unimpaired Monthly Streamflow Data and Regionalisation of Parameter Values to Estimate Streamflow in Ungauged Catchments , 2000 .

[21]  Julien Lerat,et al.  Has land cover a significant impact on mean annual streamflow? An international assessment using 1508 catchments , 2008 .

[22]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  Watershed groundwater balance estimation using streamflow recession analysis and baseflow separation , 1999 .

[23]  Valentina Krysanova,et al.  Regionalisation of the base flow index from dynamically simulated flow components — a case study in the Elbe River Basin , 2001 .

[24]  Keith Beven,et al.  Prophecy, reality and uncertainty in distributed hydrological modelling , 1993 .

[25]  A. Coutagne LES VARIATIONS DE DÉBIT EN PÉRIODE NON INFLUENCÉE PAR LES PRÉCIPITATIONS - LE DÉBIT D'INFILTRATION (CORRÉLATIONS FLUVIALES INTERNES) 2ème partie , 1948 .

[26]  Richard N. Weisman,et al.  THE EFFECT OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION ON STREAMFLOW RECESSION / L'effet de l'évapotranspiration sur l'écoulement en décrue , 1977 .