H51O-0820:
On the role of spatial patterns of watershed storage in observed storage-discharge relationships
Friday, 19 December 2014
Brian L McGlynn1, Kelsey G Jencso2, Fabian Nippgen1,3 and Ryan E Emanuel4, (1)Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, NC, United States, (2)University of Montana, Missoula, MT, United States, (3)Montana State University, Durham, NC, United States, (4)North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, Raleigh, NC, United States
Abstract:
The storage and release of water to streamflow is a fundamental watershed process. Despite this, our understanding of the relationships between watershed storage state and streamflow magnitude are poorly understood, especially the roles of precipitation history, water redistributions patterns, and resulting hydrologic connectivity between uplands and streams. This presentation focuses on synthesis of more than six years of direct, real-time measurement of each component of the watershed water balance and synthesis of temporally intensive and spatially extensive shallow groundwater table observations across the landscape to gain new insight into the evolution of spatial patterns of watershed water storage through time. We suggest that measuring or accurately modeling the magnitude and spatial patterns of watershed storage are critical to predicting watershed response to precipitation due to often non-unique relationships between watershed storage state and streamflow magnitude.
