Articles | Volume 21, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4259-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4259-2017
Research article
 | 
30 Aug 2017
Research article |  | 30 Aug 2017

A method to employ the spatial organization of catchments into semi-distributed rainfall–runoff models

Henning Oppel and Andreas Schumann

Abstract. A distributed or semi-distributed deterministic hydrological model should consider the hydrologically most relevant catchment characteristics. These are heterogeneously distributed within a watershed but often interrelated and subject to a certain spatial organization which results in archetypes of combined characteristics. In order to reproduce the natural rainfall–runoff response the reduction of variance of catchment properties as well as the incorporation of the spatial organization of the catchment are desirable. In this study the width-function approach is utilized as a basic characteristic to analyse the succession of catchment characteristics. By applying this technique we were able to assess the context of catchment properties like soil or topology along the streamflow length and the network geomorphology, giving indications of the spatial organization of a catchment. Moreover, this information and this technique have been implemented in an algorithm for automated sub-basin ascertainment, which included the definition of zones within the newly defined sub-basins. The objective was to provide sub-basins that were less heterogeneous than common separation schemes. The algorithm was applied to two parameters characterizing the topology and soil of four mid-European watersheds. Resulting partitions indicated a wide range of applicability for the method and the algorithm. Additionally, the intersection of derived zones for different catchment characteristics could give insights into sub-basin similarities. Finally, a HBV96 case study demonstrated the potential benefits of modelling with the new subdivision technique.

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Short summary
How can we evaluate the heterogeneity of natural watersheds and how can we assess its spatial organization? How can we make use of this information for hydrological models and is it beneficial to our models? We propose a method display and assess the interaction of catchment characteristics with the flow path which we defined as the ordering scheme within a basin. A newly implemented algorithm brings this information to the set-up of a model and our results show an increase in model performance.