H31E-01 08:05h
Robert Horton and the Application of Distributed Hydrological Models
The name of Walter Langbein provides a link with the hydrology of Robert Horton. Langbein both worked with Horton and was the very first recipient of the AGU Horton Medal in 1976. In his response to the award, Langbein paid tribute to Horton's wide ranging interests as evidenced in the "several dozen research files in the National Archive". A recent search of some of these files has revealed some very interesting insights into Horton's hydrological concepts and, in particular, his appreciation of the difficulties involved in hydrological analysis and distributed prediction. Despite modern computer technology and the availability of geographical information systems, these insights are still relevant and important today and should be the basis for an approach to hydrological prediction that recognises the limitations of applying general, but incomplete, theory to specific places. An analysis of the sources of uncertainty in the modelling process leads to some suggestions about how we should proceed in the application of models in the future.