Modelling runoff and erosion for a semi-arid catchment using a multi-scale approach based on hydrological connectivity

Runoff and erosion processes are often non-linear and scale dependent, which complicate runoff and erosion modelling at the catchment scale. One of the reasons for scale dependency is the influence of sinks, i.e. areas of infiltration and sedimentation, which lower hydrological connectivity and decrease the area-specific runoff and sediment yield. The objective of our study was to model runoff and erosion for a semi-arid catchment using a multi-scale approach based on hydrological connectivity. We simulated runoff and sediment dynamics at the catchment scale with the LAPSUS model and included plot and hillslope scale features that influenced hydrological connectivity. The semi-arid Carcavo catchment in Southeast Spain was selected as the study area, where vegetation patches and agricultural terraces are the relevant sinks at the plot and hillslope scales, respectively. We elaborated the infiltration module to integrate these runoff sinks, by adapting the parameters runoff threshold and runoff coefficient, which were derived from a rainfall simulation database. The results showed that the spatial distribution of vegetation patches and agricultural terraces largely determined hydrological connectivity at the catchment scale. Runoff and sediment yield for the scenario without agricultural terraces were, respectively, a factor four and nine higher compared to the current situation. Distributed hydrological and erosion models should therefore take account of relevant sinks at finer scales in order to correctly simulate runoff and erosion-sedimentation patterns.     

Groundwater control on the suspended sediment load in the Na Borges River, Mallorca, Spain

Groundwater dominance has important effects on the hydrological and geomorphological characteristics of river systems. Low suspended sediment concentrations and high water clarity are expected because significant inputs of sediment-free spring water dilute the suspended sediment generated by storms. However, in many Mediterranean rivers, groundwater dominance is characterised by seasonal alternations of influent and effluent discharge involving significant variability on the sediment transport regimes. Such areas are often subject to soil and water conservation practices over the centuries that have reduced the sediment contribution from agricultural fields and favour subsurface flow to rivers. Moreover, urbanisation during the twentieth century has changed the catchment hydrology and altered basic river processes due to its ‘flashy’ regime. In this context, we monitored suspended sediment fluxes during a two-year period in the Na Borges River, a lowland agricultural catchment (319 km²) on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands). The suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was lower when the base flow index (i.e., relative proportion of baseflow compared to stormflow, BFI) was higher. Therefore, strong seasonal contrasts explain the high SSC coefficient of variation, which is clearly related to dilution effects associated with different groundwater and surface water seasonal interactions. A lack of correlation in the Q-SSC rating curves shows that factors other than discharge control sediment transport. As a result, at the event scale, multiple regressions illustrate that groundwater and surface water interactions are involved in the sedimentary response of flood events. In the winter, the stability of baseflow driven by groundwater contributions and agricultural and urban spills causes hydraulic variables (i.e., maximum discharge) to exert the most important control on events, whereas in the summer, it is necessary to accumulate important volumes of rainfall, creating a minimum of wet conditions in the catchment to activate hydrological pathways and deliver sediment to the drainage network. The BFI is also related to sediment delivery processes, as the loads are higher with lower BFI, corroborating the fact that most sediment movement is caused by stormflow and its related factors. Overall, suspended sediment yields were very low (i.e., < 1 t km^− 2 yr^− 1) at all measuring sites. Such values are the consequence of the limited sediment delivery attributable to soil conservation practices, low surface runoff coefficients and specific geomorphic features of groundwater-dominated rivers, such as low drainage density, low gradient, steep valley walls and flat valley floors.     

全球视野下崩岗侵蚀地貌及其研究进展

典型的崩岗具有“圆形露天剧场”般的沟头,发育在深厚的红色花岗岩风化壳上,通常包括集水坡面、崩壁、崩积体、沟道、洪积扇5个地貌组成部分;崩壁自上而下可分为表土层、风化红粘土层(红土层)、风化砂质红粘土层(砂土层)、风化粗碎屑层(碎屑层)。中国的崩岗与马达加斯加的lavaka属于同类地貌,两者具有地貌学上的可比性。崩岗群是劣地的表现形式之一,但与欧洲的badland有不同的侵蚀过程,也不同于意大利和巴西的两种沟谷侵蚀地貌calanchi和vocoroca。崩岗主要发育在华南和东南热带和亚热带湿润季风气候区中等偏缓的丘陵坡地上,由沟谷侵蚀发展而成,是沟谷侵蚀的高级阶段。崩岗沟道侵蚀产沙量占崩岗沟谷流域侵蚀产沙量的一半以上,其中沟道沟壁崩塌侵蚀产沙量与沟床下切侵蚀产沙量又各占崩岗沟道侵蚀产沙量的一半左右。野外人工模拟降雨试验是研究崩岗流域侵蚀、产流和产沙过程的有效手段。崩岗流域侵蚀产沙量可以通过崩岗沟谷和洪积扇地形测量加以估算。     

Micropiping processes and biancana evolution in southeast Tuscany, Italy

Biancane badlands consisting of small domes dissected by rills and micropipes, with rough disordered microrehef, can be found along the Apennines in Italy. The dominant processes forming biancane differ from those of badlands formed on smectite-rich mudrocks, as micropipes associated with pseudokarstic enlargement of pores and cracks predominate and form the main routes for evacuation of eroded material.Biancana evolution is controlled by water infiltration into intact bedrock, producing an erodible weathering ‘rind’ which is more porous than intact rock. This rind is easily removed by rill or micropipe flow, and erosion is therefore ‘weathering-controlled’, depending on rind production by infiltrating water. Infiltration is initially slow and stepped, due to slow water movement through very small capillary pores in intact rock alternating with rapid filling of macropores and cracks. This occurs due to rapid matrix pore enlargement by dispersion and/or dissolution. The infiltration pattern is accurately reproduced by a model built on progressive development of weathering layers by moisture penetration. Model results are consistent with weathering rind depths and erosion observed in the field, and show that a pipe network can be generated on newly exposed rock by the rainfall of one year.Propagation of the pipe network diverts a progressively larger proportion of runoff into micropipes, expanding weathering rind production within the biancana as well as on the surface. Internal weathering and flow progressively dominate with few unweathered corestones, and the biancana gradually collapses into a penultimate “soufflé-like” form.     

Sensitivity analysis of pediment development through numerical simulation and selected geospatial query

Dozens of references recognizing pediment landforms in widely varying lithologic, climatic, and tectonic settings suggest a ubiquity in pediment forming processes on mountain piedmonts worldwide. Previous modeling work illustrates the development of a unique range in arid/semiarid piedmont slope (< 0.2 or 11.3°) and regolith thickness (2–4 m) that defines pediments, despite varying the initial conditions and domain characteristics (initial regolith thickness, slope, distance from basin to crest, topographic perturbations, and boundary conditions) and process rates (fluvial sediment transport efficiency and weathering rates). This paper expands upon the sensitivity analysis through numerical simulation of pediment development in the presence of spatially varying rock type, various base level histories, various styles of sediment transport, and various rainfall rates to determine how pediment development might be restricted in certain environments. This work suggests that in landscapes characterized by soil and vegetation types that favor incisive fluvial sediment transport styles coupled with incisive base level conditions, pediment development will be disrupted by the roughening of sediment mantled surfaces, thereby creating spatial variability in topography, regolith thickness, and bedrock weathering rates. Base level incision rates that exceed the integrated sediment flux along a hillslope derived from upslope weathering and sediment transport on the order of 10^− 3 m y^− 1 restrict pediment development by fostering piedmont incision and/or wholesale removal (stripping) of regolith mantles prior to footslope pediment development. Simulations illustrate an insensitivity to alternating layers of sandstone and shale 3–15 m thick oriented in various geometric configurations (vertical, horizontal, and dip-slope) and generating different regolith hydrologic properties and exhibiting weathering rate variations up to 3-fold. Higher fluxes and residence times of subsurface groundwater in more humid environments, as well as dissolution-type weathering, lead to a thickening of regolith mantles on erosional piedmonts on the order of 10¹ m and an elimination of pediment morphology. An initial test of the model sensitivity analysis in arid/semiarid environments, for which field reconnaissance and detailed geomorphic mapping indicate the presence of pediments controlled by climatic conditions (soil hydrologic properties, vegetation characteristics, and bedrock weathering style) that are known and constant, supports our modeling results that pediments are more prevalent in hydrologically-open basins.     

Suspended sediment transport in a highly erodible catchment: The River Isábena (Southern Pyrenees)

Understanding and quantifying sediment load is important in catchments draining highly erodible materials that eventually contribute to siltation of downstream reservoirs. Within this context, the suspended sediment transport and its temporal dynamics have been studied in the River Isábena (445 km², south-central Pyrenees, Ebro basin) by means of direct sampling and turbidity recording during a 3-year dry period. The average flood-suspended sediment concentration was 8 g l^− 1, with maximum instantaneous values above 350 g l^− 1. The high scatter between discharge and suspended sediment concentrations (up to five orders of magnitude) has not permitted the use of rating curve methods to estimate the total load. Interpolation techniques yielded a mean annual sediment load of 184,253 t y^− 1 for the study period, with a specific yield of 414 t km^− 2 y^− 1. This value resembles those reported for small torrents in nearby mountainous environments and is the result of the high connectivity between the badland source areas and stream courses, a fact that maximises sediment conveyance through the catchment. Floods dominated the sediment transport and yield. However, sediment transport was more constant through time than that observed in Mediterranean counterparts; this can be attributed to the role of base flows that entrain fine sediment temporarily stored in the channel and force the river to carry high sediment concentrations (i.e., generally in the order of 0.5 g l^− 1), even under minimum flow conditions.     

Erosion rates in badland areas recorded by collectors,erosion pins and profilometer techniques (Ebro Basin,NE-Spain)

In badland areas of the Ebro Basin, in a semiarid climate, two erosion plots (257 m²; 5° slope and 128 m²; 23° slope) on exposed Tertiary clays were monitored over two years (Nov. 1991–Nov. 1993). This material is characterized by high sodium absorption ratios which lead to high soil dispersivity. The dominant erosion processes in both plots are rilling and sheet erosion. Rainfall intensity was recorded at a weather station, connected to a data-logger, sediment production for single events was collected in tanks, and ground lowering was measured every six months by erosion pins and microtopographic profile gauge techniques. Significant runoff was produced only by rainfall events above 5 mm. Another threshold at 20 mm rain was noted. For rainfalls higher than 20 mm, the 23° slope plot shows a greater runoff response than the 5° one. Rainfall events exceeding this threshold showed a higher sediment production for the steeper slope. In the relationship between precipitation and sediment concentration, an envelope curve can be drawn indicating that any rainfall event of a given amount and intensity has a maximum sediment concentration which we speculate to be a function of the runoff sediment transport capacity. Runoff response and sediment yield in the studied plots are controlled by the rainfall and soil characteristics and their seasonal variations. In both plots, the erosion pins show that erosion rates in rill areas are 25–50% higher than in the interrill areas. Sediment yield recorded by collector devices was higher than the rates measured by erosion pins. The erosion rates based on rill cross-sections by profilometers were higher than the ones recorded by collectors.     

Rainfall thresholds for landsliding in the Himalayas of Nepal

Landsliding of the hillslope regolith is an important source of sediment to the fluvial network in the unglaciated portions of the Himalayas of Nepal. These landslides can produce abrupt increases of up to three orders of magnitude in the fluvial sediment load in less than a day. An analysis of 3 years of daily sediment load and daily rainfall data defines a relationship between monsoonal rainfall and the triggering of landslides in the Annapurna region of Nepal. Two distinct rainfall thresholds, a seasonal accumulation and a daily total, must be overcome before landslides are initiated. To explore the geomorphological controls on these thresholds, we develop a slope stability model, driven by daily rainfall data, which accounts for changes in regolith moisture. The pattern of rainfall thresholds predicted by the model is similar to the field data, including the decrease in the daily rainfall threshold as the seasonal rainfall accumulation increases. Results from the model suggest that, for a given hillslope, regolith thickness determines the seasonal rainfall necessary for failure, whereas slope angle controls the daily rainfall required for failure.     

The sediment budget of a highly dynamic mesoscale catchment: The River Isábena

The paper presents the sediment budget of the Isábena basin, a highly dynamic 445-km² catchment located in the Central Pyrenees that is patched by highly erodible areas (i.e., badlands). The budget for the period 2007-2009 is constructed following a methodology that allows the interpolation of intermittent measurements of suspended sediment concentrations and enables a subsequent calculation of sediment loads. Data allow specification of the contribution of each subbasin to the water and sediment yield in the catchment outlet. Mean annual sediment load was 235,000 t y^− 1. Specific sediment yield reached 2000 t km^− 2 y^− 1, a value that indicates very high sedimentary activity, especially in the case of Villacarli and Lascuarre subcatchments, were most badlands are located. The specific sediment yield obtained for the entire Isábena is 527 t km^− 2 y^− 1, a high value for such a mesoscale basin. Results show that a small part of the area (i.e., 1%) controls most of the catchment's gross sediment contribution. Sediment delivery ratio (ratio between sediment input from primary sources and basin export) has been estimated at around 90%, while in-channel storage represents the 5% of the annual load on average. The high connectivity between sediment sources (i.e., badlands) and transfer paths (i.e., streamcourses) exacerbates the influence of the local sediment production on the catchment's sediment yield, a quite unusual fact for a basin of this scale.     

三岔河流域水文特征与化学风化碳汇效应

在喀斯特地区的流域产汇流过程中,由于富含碳酸的水体对可溶岩的溶蚀作用,导致河流断面输出大量溶解无机碳(DIC),反映了流域化学风化消耗大气CO2的强度,与流域水文过程密切相关。为了正确估算流域水文过程中化学径流及其碳汇效应,解析水文特征对流域地表过程中碳的生物地球化学行为的影响规律,以喀斯特地貌广布的三岔河流域三个水文站断面为例,研究了河源区河流水文特征与碳汇效应。结果表明:处于亚热带湿热环境下的喀斯特流域在观测水文年内,碳汇强度远大于非喀斯特的花岗岩流域且具有显著的季节变化,绝大部分的碳汇发生在高温多雨的6-11月。相关分析表明,流域碳汇强度与流域气温、降水和径流量呈显著的正相关关系;流域碳汇强度与河流总溶解固体物(TDS)浓度、DIC浓度呈显著的负相关关系。丰水期径流对河流TDS和DIC有明显的稀释效应。流域碳汇强度主要决定于河流TDS和DIC输出载荷而非河流TDS和DIC的浓度,与流域水文特征密切相关。     

A review of runoff generation and soil erosion across scales in semiarid south-eastern Spain

Climate, lithology, soil and especially, intense land use/cover changes, make SE Spain very vulnerable to runoff generation and water erosion leading to loss of nutrients and organic matter and to infrequent but devastating floods, reservoir siltation and mass failures. This susceptibility has led to heavy economic investment and research efforts since the 1980s, making this region a worldwide reference for understanding the hydrology and geomorphology of semiarid ecosystems. Runoff and soil erosion have been intensively studied throughout the last decades in various natural ecosystems as well as in abandoned farmlands. Research has considered a wide range of methods and spatial and temporal scales. This paper reviews the methods and data describing runoff generation and water erosion, synthesising the key processes involved, rates, thresholds and controlling factors from a scale-dependent perspective. It also identifies the major gaps in current knowledge to provide recommendations for further research towards solutions that reduce the negative impacts of erosion. Research in SE Spain has contributed significantly to a better understanding of the effect of spatial and temporal scale on runoff and sediment yield measurements, and highlighted the important role of distinct erosion and sediment transport processes, hydrologic connectivity, spatial and temporal patterns of rainfall, the occurrence of extreme events and the impacts of land use changes. The most effective ways and challenges to predict runoff, soil erosion and sediment yield at the catchment scale are also discussed.     

Geomorphic characterization and diversity of the fluvial systems of the Gangetic Plains

The extensive Gangetic alluvial plains are drained by rivers which differ strongly in terms of hydrological and sediment transport characteristics. These differences are manifested in the geomorphic diversity of the plains. The Western Gangetic Plains (WGP) are marked by a degradational topography with incised channels and extensive badland development in some parts, while the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) are characterized by shallow, aggrading channels with frequent avulsions and extensive flooding. We interpret such geomorphic diversity in terms of differences in stream power and sediment supply from the catchment areas. The rivers draining the western plains are marked by higher stream power and lower sediment yield that result in degradation. In comparison, the rivers draining the eastern Gangetic Plains have lower stream power and higher sediment yield that result in aggradation. The variation of stream power, a function of channel slope and high sediment yield, is attributed to differences in rainfall and rate of uplift in the hinterland. It is suggested that such differences have resulted in a marked geomorphic diversity across the plains. It is also suggested that such diversity has existed for a fairly long time because of climatic and tectonic variance.     

Mapping badland areas using LANDSAT TM/ETM satellite imagery and morphological data

Soil erosion is the most influential component of land degradation for its strong impacts on both natural and agricultural environments. In order to support effective intervention and recovery policies for eroded areas, monitoring techniques should take into account the space–time variability of the processes involved, and make use of assessed mapping methodologies as baseline criteria for studying the dynamics of landform development. When using multispectral data for mapping eroded areas, low spectral separability is a significant limit in areas with complex features, where soil materials are frequently remixed by surface runoff. Since multispectral satellite images are a valuable data source for multi-temporal analyses of erosion processes at the medium scale, we assessed how accurately a badland area can be identified from LANDSAT TM and ETM data. A protocol for an optimal mapping was built up by testing the performance of different supervised algorithms and input layers (spectral and morphological). Tests were carried out in a well-known badland area of Basilicata, Italy, with an extension of  8000 ha. Results obtained from the use of spectral bands (with and without thermal channel) and principal components returned an overall accuracy ranging from 53% (for classification on first three components) to 72% (for classification on all bands from TM), with low values for the kappa coefficient (0.30–0.50), showing that the spectral information alone are insufficient to accurately identify badland areas. In order to improve mapping, we found that the integration of slopes and aspects derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) can overcome problems inherent to the low separability of spectral signatures. The use of morphological data was tested for different classification algorithms and integration approaches. In discriminating badlands, the better performing algorithm was MLC (Maximum Likelihood Classifier) and the best results were obtained by integrating all seven bands (including TIR) with slope and aspect maps as input within the classifier (A > 0.85 and K  0.75 for both the sensors). We selected such parameters because they play an important role in characterising badlands of study area from a morphological perspective but the proposed approach is also conceptually simple and can be easily exported to other areas. The obtained results support the hypothesis that the combined use of remote sensing imagery and auxiliary morphological data significantly improves the mapping of badlands over large areas with heterogeneous features, thus providing a useful methodology for long-term studies on soil erosion processes.     

Space–time variability of denudation rates at the catchment and hillslope scales on the Tyrrhenian side of Central Italy

Studies on denudation rates can provide insight into the influence of climate change, tectonics, and human activities on landscape evolution. Research performed in Central Italy has shown considerable spatial variability of denudation rates in the major river basins. These studies have focused mainly on the Tyrrhenian side of the Italian peninsula, where Plio-Pleistocene marine deposits filling NW–SE elongated sedimentary basins have been uplifted during the Quaternary up to several hundreds of meters above present sea level. Small sub-catchments developed on clays are affected by sharp- and/or rounded-edged badlands (i.e. calanchi and biancane), representing denudation “hot spots” in the present-day morphoclimatic framework.In this paper, we analyze the relationships between indirectly estimated denudation rates at the catchment scale and field monitoring data at the hillslope scale. We attempt to better understand and quantify all hillslope processes that contribute to seasonal variability of denudation, to help with predicting the net input from “hot spots” to the overall estimated sediment yield at the basin outlets. At the hillslope scale, we discuss, in particular, the variability of denudation rates at calanchi and biancane badlands as a function of their different morphoevolution.     

Empirical Catchment-wide Rainfall Erosivity Models for Two Rivers in the Humid Tropics of Australia

The concept of rainfall erosivity is extended to the estimation of catchment sediment yield and its variation over time. Five different formulations of rainfall erosivity indices, using annual, monthly and daily rainfall data, are proposed and tested on two catchments in the humid tropics of Australia. Rainfall erosivity indices, using simple power functions of annual and daily rainfall amounts, were found to be adequate in describing the interannual and seasonal variation of catchment sediment yield. The parameter values of these rainfall erosivity indices for catchment sediment yield are broadly similar to those for rainfall erosivity models in relation to the R-factor in the Universal Soil Loss Equation.     

LASCAM水文模型在流域生态水文过程研究中的应用——模型理论基础

LASCAM水文模型是一种大尺度分布式概念水文模型,介于高精度分布式水文模型和集总式经验模型之间,是基于亚流域空间单元建立的中等精度的分布式概念模型。LASCAM模型在亚流域空间单元定义了3个概念性土壤水库,在经验方程的基础上:①建立亚流域各土壤水库与亚流域生态特征(LAI)和气候(降雨)之间函数关系;②通过对亚流域的降雨-植冠截流过程、地表产流过程、表层入渗-亚表层产流过程、亚表层入渗过程的模拟,揭示降雨在亚流域的(地表和亚表层)径流和入渗等环节的再分配过程;③基于亚流域各土壤水库的水量(水位)建立了各土壤水库之间的水通量过程方程;④建立亚流域各库的蒸散发与生态特征(LAI)之间的函数关系模拟各库的蒸散发过程。最后,通过河道径流演算法则,并依据亚流域与流域总体之间的分布式关系,将各亚流域的径流汇总到整个流域,从而将亚流域空间的水文响应扩展到流域整体空间上,实现了大尺度异质性流域的水文过程和水量平衡模拟。     

A grassed waterway and earthen dams to control muddy floods from a cultivated catchment of the Belgian loess belt

Muddy floods, i.e. runoff from cultivated areas carrying large quantities of soil, are frequent and widespread in the European loess belt. They are mainly generated in dry zero-order valleys and are nowadays considered as the most likely process transferring material eroded from cultivated hillslopes during the Holocene to the flood plain. The huge costs of muddy flood damages justify the urgent installation of control measures. In the framework of the ‘Soil Erosion Decree’ of the Belgian Flemish region, a 12 ha-grassed waterway and three earthen dams have been installed between 2002–2004 in the thalweg of a 300-ha cultivated dry valley in the Belgian loess belt. The measures served their purpose by preventing any muddy flood in the downstream village, despite the occurrence of several extreme rainfall events (with a maximum return period of 150 years). The catchment has been intensively monitored from 2005–2007 and 39 runoff events were recorded in that period. Peak discharge (per ha) was reduced by 69% between the upstream and the downstream extremities of the grassed waterway (GWW). Furthermore, runoff was buffered for 5–12 h behind the dams, and the lag time at the outlet of the catchment was thereby increased by 75%. Reinfiltration was also observed within the waterway, runoff coefficients decreasing by a mean of 50% between both extremities of the GWW. Sediment discharge was also reduced by 93% between the GWW's inflow and the outlet. Before the installation of the control measures, specific sediment yield (SSY) of the catchment reached 3.5 t ha^− 1 yr^− 1 and an ephemeral gully was observed nearly each year in the catchment. Since the control measures have been installed, no (ephemeral) gully has developed and the SSY of the catchment dropped to a mean of 0.5 t ha^− 1 yr^− 1. Hence, sediment transfer from the cultivated dry valley to the alluvial plain should dramatically decrease. Total cost of the control measures that are built for a 20 year-period is very low (126 € ha^− 1) compared to the mean damage cost associated with muddy floods in the study area (54 € ha^− 1 yr^− 1). Similar measures should therefore be installed to protect other flooded villages of the Belgian loess belt and comparable environments.     

Inflow and lake controls on short-term mass accumulation and sedimentary particle size in a High Arctic lake: implications for interpreting varved lacustrine sedimentary records

Sedimentary processes were monitored in a varved lake in the Canadian High Arctic through three melt seasons and revealed that seasonal sediment deposition rates were highly dependent on short-lived inflow events driven by high suspended sediment concentrations that varied with runoff intensity. Our results illustrate that in accordance with the suspended sediment discharge into the lake, the rate of sediment accumulation changed over short distances down-lake, in a given year. This result indicates that there is a rate and accumulation dependence on short-lived, intense inflow conditions. In addition, there was strong evidence for substantial decoupling between deposition rate and mean grain size of sedimentary deposits. These results have important implications for paleoclimate interpretation of annually laminated sedimentary records from dynamic lake environments and suggest that grain size measures may not be representative proxies of inflow competence. Grain size indices based on a measure of the coarser fraction, rather than the bulk sediment, may be more appropriate to use as a link between contemporary runoff processes and sedimentary characteristics.     

鄱阳湖流域水文变化特征成因及旱涝规律

本研究分析了1960-2008年鄱阳湖流域的气候和水文变化特征,用水量和能量平衡关系解释和印证了这些特征,并由此揭示了鄱阳湖流域水文变化特征的成因及干旱和洪涝发生的规律.得到以下主要结论:1)正常或偏湿年份鄱阳湖流域6月份容纳水量能力已达到饱和,若6-7月降水量超出正常年份,则流域超饱和,洪涝发生.长江中上游降水量7月份的异常偏多会对鄱阳湖流域的洪涝起触发和强化作用.2)鄱阳湖流域7-10月蒸发量大于降水量,特别是7-8月蒸发量大于降水量的一倍以上,所以若4-6月流域降水量少于平均年同期量的20％以上,则累积效应使秋旱发生.当初冬(11月)降水偏少时,秋旱可持续到来年的初春,形成严重的春旱.长江中上游降水量对鄱阳湖流域的春旱没有直接影响,但7-8月降水量偏少时则对秋旱起重要的强化作用.3)长江对鄱阳湖流域的水文过程和旱涝的发生、发展的影响主要在7-8月的“长江与鄱阳湖耦合作用”时期和9-10月的“弱长江作用”期.     

黄河壶口段全新世古洪水事件及其水文学研究

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