Hydrology and Earth System Sciences www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net 1027-5606 1607-7938 11 5 2007 10.5194/hess-11-1683-2007 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1683/2007/ http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1683/2007/hess-11-1683-2007.html http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1683/2007/hess-11-1683-2007.pdf 1683 1701 2007-10-18 Controls on runoff generation and scale-dependence in a distributed hydrologic model E. R. Vivoni vivoni@nmt.edu D. Entekhabi R. L. Bras V. Y. Ivanov Dept. of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USA Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA Hydrologic response in natural catchments is controlled by a set of complex interactions between storm properties, basin characteristics and antecedent wetness conditions. This study investigates the transient runoff response to spatially-uniform storms of varying properties using a distributed model of the coupled surface-subsurface system, which treats heterogeneities in topography, soils and vegetation. We demonstrate the control that the partitioning into multiple runoff mechanisms (infiltration-excess, saturation-excess, perched return flow and groundwater exfiltration) has on nonlinearities in the rainfall-runoff transformation and its scale-dependence. Antecedent wetness imposed through a distributed water table position is varied to illustrate its effect on runoff generation. Results indicate that transitions observed in basin flood response and its nonlinear and scale-dependent behavior can be explained by shifts in the surface-subsurface partitioning. An analysis of the spatial organization of runoff production also shows that multiple mechanisms have specific catchment niches and can occur simultaneously in the basin. 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