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

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

Download:

HTML

PDF(1378KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)

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)

	Service
	E-mail this article
	Add to my bookshelf
	Add to citation manager
	E-mail Alert
	RSS
	Articles by authors
	N GUNAWARDHANA Luminda
	A AL-RAWAS Ghazi
	S BAAWAIN Mahad

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


[1]	Abdalla F, Shamy I, El Bamousa A O, et al. 2014. Flash floods and groundwater recharge potentials in arid land alluvial basins, Southern Red Sea Coast, Egypt. International Journal of Geosciences, 5(9):971-982.

[2]	Abdalla O, Al-Rawahi A S. 2013. Groundwater recharge dams in arid areas as tools for aquifer replenishment and mitigating seawater intrusion: example of AlKhod, Oman. Environmental Earth Sciences, 69:1951-1962.

[3]	Ahmadalipour A, Moradkhani H. 2019. A data-driven analysis of flash flood hazard, fatalities, and damages over the CONUS during 1996-2017. Journal of Hydrology, 578:124106.

[4]	Al-Rawas A G, Valeo C. 2010. Relationship between wadi drainage characteristics and peak-flood flows in arid northern Oman. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 55(3):377-393.

[5]	AlSarmi S H, Washington R. 2013. Changes in climate extremes in the Arabian Peninsula: analysis of daily data. International Journal of Climatology, 34(5):1329-1345.

[6]	Angelidis P, Kotsikas M, Kotsovinos N. 2010. Management of upstream dams and flood protection of the Transboundary River Evros/Maritza. Water Resources Management, 24:2467-2484.

[7]	Badrzadeh H, Sarukkalige R, Jayawardena A W. 2015. Hourly runoff forecasting for flood risk management: application of various computational intelligence models. Journal of Hydrology, 529:1633-1643.

[8]	Bhuyan M K, Kumar S, Jena J, et al. 2015. Flood hydrograph with synthetic unit hydrograph routing. Water Resources Management, 29:5765-5782.

[9]	Borga M, Capovilla A, Cazorzi F, et al. 1991. Development and application of a real-time flood forecasting system in the Veneto region of Italy. Water Resources Management, 5:209-216.

[10]	Chow V T, Maidment D R, Mays L W. 1988. Applied Hydrology. New York: McGraw- Hill, 213-230.

[11]	Clark C O. 1943. Storage and the unit hydrograph. Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 69(9):1333-1360.

[12]	Dingman S L. 2015. Physical Hydrology (3rd ed.). Illinois: Waveland Press Inc., 455-514.

[13]	El Hassan A A, Sharif H O, Jackson T, et al. 2013. Performance of a conceptual and physically based model in simulating the response of a semi-urbanized watershed in San Antonio, Texas. Hydrological Processes, 27(24):3394-3408.

[14]	Ghoneim E, Foody G M. 2013. Assessing flash flood hazard in an arid mountainous region. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 6:1191-1202.

[15]	Gray D M. 1961. Synthetic unit hydrographs for small watersheds. Journal of Hydraulics Division, 87(HY4):33-54.

[16]	Greenbaum N, Margalit A, Schick A B, et al. 1998. A high magnitude storm and flood in a hyperarid catchment, Nahal Zin, Negev Desert, Israel. Hydrological Processes, 12(1):1-23.

[17]	Gunawardhana L N, Al-Rawas G A. 2016. A comparison of trends in extreme rainfall using 20-year data in three major cities in oman. The Journal of Engineering Research, 13(2):137-148.

[18]	Gunawardhana L N, Al-Rawas G A, Kwarteng A Y, et al. 2017. Potential changes in the number of wet days and its effect on future intense and annual precipitation in northern Oman. Hydrology Research, 49(1):237-250.

[19]	Hering D, Gerhard M, Manderbach R, et al. 2004. Impact of a 100-year flood on vegetation, benthic invertebrates, riparian fauna and large woody debris standing stock in an alpine floodplain. River Research and Applications, 20(4):445-457.

[20]	Jena S K, Tiwari K N. 2006. Modeling synthetic unit hydrograph parameters with geomorphologic parameters of watersheds. Journal of Hydrology, 319(1-4):1-14.

[21]	Kazama S, Sato A, Kawagoe S. 2009. Evaluating the cost of flood damage based on changes in extreme rainfall in Japan. Sustainability Science, 4:61-69.

[22]	Mayaud C, Gabrovšeka F, Blatnika M, et al. 2019. Understanding flooding in poljes: A modelling perspective. Journal of Hydrology, 575:874-889.

[23]	McCune R H. 1998. Hydrologic analysis and design (2^nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 489-493.

[24]	Merz B, Kreibich H, Schwarze R, et al. 2010. Assessment of economic flood damage. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 10:1697-1724.

[25]	Nouh M. 1990. Flood hydrograph estimation from arid catchment morphology. Hydrological Processes, 4(2):103-120.

[26]	Parsons M. 2018. Extreme floods and river values: A social-ecological perspective. River Research and Applications, 35(10):1677-1687.

[27]	Pilgrim D H, Chapman T G, Doran D G. 1988. Problems of rainfall-runoff modelling in arid and semiarid regions. Hydrological Sciences, 33:379-400.

[28]	Sen Z. 2008. Modified hydrograph method for arid regions. Hydrological Processes, 22(3):356-365.

[29]	Sherman L K. 1932. Streamflow from rainfall by the unit-graph method. Engineering News Record, 108:501-505.

[30]	Snyder F F. 1938. Synthetic unit-hydrographs. Eos Transactions American Geophysical Union, 19(1):447-454.

[31]	USDA-SCS (United States Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service). 1972. National Engineering Handbook, Section 4-Hydrology. Washington D C: USDA-SCS.

[32]	Sudhakar B S, Anupam K S, Akshay O J. 2015. Snyder unit hydrograph and GIS for estimation of flood for un-gauged catchments in Lower Tapi Basin, India. Hydrology Current Research, 6(1):1-10.

[33]	Sugawara M. 1995. Tank model, computer models of watershed hydrology, In: Singh V P. Computer Models of Watershed Hydrology. Colorado: Water Resources Publications, Highlands Ranch, 1130.

[34]	Tomirotti M, Mignosa P. 2017. A methodology to derive synthetic design hydrographs for river flood management. Journal of Hydrology, 555:736-743. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.10.036

[35]	Usul N, Tezcan B. 1995. Determining synthetic unit hydrographs and parameters for four Turkish basins. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 50(2):170-173.

[36]	Young M E, Macumber P G, Watts M, et al. 2004. Electromagnetic detection of deep freshwater lenses in a hyper-arid limestone terrain. Journal of Applied Geophysics, 57(1):43-61.

No related articles found!

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared

Discussed