Spatial regression approach to estimate synthetic unit hydrograph by geomorphic characteristics of watersheds in arid regions

doi:10.1007/s40333-020-0101-y

Journal of Arid Land

2020, Vol. 12

Issue (6): 950-963 DOI: 10.1007/s40333-020-0101-y CSTR: 32276.14.s40333-020-0101-y

Research article

Spatial regression approach to estimate synthetic unit hydrograph by geomorphic characteristics of watersheds in arid regions

Luminda N GUNAWARDHANA^*(

), Ghazi A AL-RAWAS, Mahad S BAAWAIN

Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

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Abstract

Rainfall-runoff relationship in arid regions is unique and challenging to study. Studies for bridging the hydro-meteorological knowledge gap for planning, designing and managing water resources is therefore vitally important. The objective of this study is to develop a method for estimating unit hydrograph at reasonably finer time resolutions (10-min and 1-h) which can be easily adaptable by practitioners at sub-catchment levels, especially when the focus area is ungauged. Observed wadi-flow at 5-min interval and tipping bucket rainfall measurements at 1-min interval were obtained to cover 10 major watersheds in Oman. The deconvolution method was applied to derive the unit hydrographs (UHs) from wadi-flow and excess rainfall. Key catchment characteristics such as the watershed area, length of the main wadi and the length to the centroid of the catchment area were derived from digital elevation model (DEM) data. The whole study area was then divided into 515 sub-catchments with various shapes and sizes. A strong relationship was found between the wadi length and the length to the centroid of the catchment area (R²>0.89). This relationship was then adopted to simplify the classical Snyder method to determine UHs. Moreover, several parameters of the Snyder method were calibrated to the arid environment by matching the peak-flow, lag-time and three time-widths (75%, 50% and 30% of the peak-flow) of 10-min and 1-h UHs with physical characteristics of the watersheds. All developed relationships were validated with independent rainfall and wadi-flow events. Results indicate that the calibrated parameters in these arid watersheds are quite distinct from those suggested for other regions of the world. A marked difference was found between the 10-min UHs estimated by the S-hydrograph method and the deconvolution method. Therefore, it is concluded that a method depends on natural hydro-meteorological conditions would be more practical in arid region. The proposed methodology can be used for water resources management in arid regions having similar climate and geographical settings.

Key words： deconvolution method S-hydrograph method Snyder method DEM data river length

Received: 03 December 2019 Published: 10 November 2020

Corresponding Authors:

About author: *Luminda N GUNAWARDHANA (E-mail: luminda@squ.edu.om)

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Cite this article:

Luminda N GUNAWARDHANA, Ghazi A AL-RAWAS, Mahad S BAAWAIN. Spatial regression approach to estimate synthetic unit hydrograph by geomorphic characteristics of watersheds in arid regions. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(6): 950-963.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-020-0101-y OR http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2020/V12/I6/950

Fig. 1 Delineated catchments and locations of rain gauge stations (a) and Thiessen Polygons for Aday catchment (b)

Table 1 List of stations and delineated catchment characteristics

Fig. 2 Calibrated and validated relationship between L (the main wadi length from the most upstream point of the watershed to the catchment outlet) and L_c (the distance from the catchment outlet to the point along the main wadi which is the closest to the centroid of the watershed)

Fig. 3 Observed and simulated wadi-flow using 1-h UH (unit hydrograph)

Fig. 4 Comparison of 10-min UHs developed by two methods for Aday catchment

Fig. 5 Observed and simulated 10-min averaged peak-flows by two methods for all watersheds

Fig. 6 Relationship between peak-flow (Q_p)and physical characteristics of the catchment derived using the optimal m value (0.7) for 1-h and 10-min UHs (unit hydrographs)

Fig. 7 Calibration of C_t (Equation 2) for estimating lag-time for the 1-h and 10-min UHs

Fig. 8 Time width at 75% (W₇₅), 50% (W₅₀) and 30% (W₃₀) of the Q_p for 1-h and 10-min UHs. A, catchment area.

Fig. 9 Comparison between developed 10-min UHs for Afi watershed with two different width-ratios

Fig. 10 Comparison of observed and simulated wadi-flows from proposed empirical equations


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