HR: 08:05h
AN: H21B-01 INVITED     [PDF]
TI: Gauging the ungauged basin: How to diagnose catchment function from field reconnaissance to long-term observation.
AU: * McDonnell, J J
EM: jeff.mcdonnej@orst.edu
AF: Dept. of Forest Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330 United States
AU: Sivapalan, M
EM: sivapalan@cwr.uwa.edu.au
AF: Center for Water Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009 Australia
AB: Despite the widespread gauging (usually rainfall and runoff) of watersheds around the world for the past century, little thought has been given to gauging strategies in the context of what to measure, where to measure, and when. We explore in this talk whether or not gauging should be a mechanical and prescriptive approach or, perhaps alternatively as a diagnostic tool to probe how a catchment works. The following questions will be explored: Does a one size-fits-all approach work for basins in different climates, geological situations and vegetative environments? What are the minimum number and location of measurements necessary to even characterize a basin? Should we standardize our gauging for all catchments? How should concepts, theories and modeling inform where and what to measure? These questions have not been explored in detail since the early days of the International Hydrological Decade back in the 1960s. Nevertheless, it is these basic questions that may help us to reveal simplicity from the hitherto measured complexities of gauged basins developed thus far. As we move from the traditional headwater research basin to mesoscale basins and beyond, we need to rethink what it might mean to "gauge" a basin. How might we rapidly assess first order process controls from say a few days of field reconnaissance or perhaps some combination of assessed climate-vegetation-geologic controls on annual water balance, monthly flows, event dynamics, water age, geographic and time source components of flow. This talk presents some ideas on a road map to gauging within the PUB framework and considers how new approaches may reconsider the tradeoffs between precision and accuracy for spatial completeness, new data content and characterization of the gross stocks and flows of water (and things carried with the water) in a basin.
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
DE: 1866 Soil moisture
DE: 1899 General or miscellaneous
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting