Meixner functions for derivation of the unit hydrograph

The Meixner functions are utilized to relate the effective rainfall, the direct runoff and the unit hydrograph through linkage equations. The linkage equations are then employed to derive the unit hydrograph for given rainfall-runoff data on a small agricultural watershed. These functions are tested with regard to their ability to reproduce and predict the direct runoff hydrograph. The Meixner functions are found to be an effective analytical tool for hydrograph synthesis. Further, they compare well with the least squares and linear programming methods of the unit hydrograph derivation.     

Application of Archimedean copulas in the analysis of the precipitation extremes: effects of precipitation changes

Due to the influence of changing environment and intensifying human activities, hydrometeorological changes are becoming common. This study derives a bivariate joint distribution of total precipitation and precipitation days with daily precipitation exceeding the 75th percentile and falling below the 25th percentile. Chang points in the precipitation series are detected with more than one statistical method. Results indicate that (1) for P75 and D75, Kendal’s τ does not change significantly even when the existence of change points is taken into account. The selection of a copula is greatly impacted by the existence of a change point; (2) for P25 and D25, τ varies much, while the precipitation variations have no evident effects on the selection of a copula. Therefore, a copula should be selected after the detection of change points to avoid possible bias in results or conclusions. This study is of some merits in terms of risk evaluation based on copula-based probability analysis with available change points.     

Coral microatoll as geodetic tool in North Andaman and Little Andaman,India

Coral microatolls were examined from North Andaman and Little Andaman to understand the relative sea level change due to vertical tectonic deformation above the subduction interface. The highest level of survival of coral microatoll before the 26 December, 2004 earthquake at eastern coast of North Andaman has been determined by Global Ocean Tide Model. The present position of recently dead flat top microatoll with preserved internal structure at the eastern coast of North Andaman mainland indicates 31.21 cm uplift due to the 26 December, 2004 earthquake. Comparatively old cup shaped microatoll at the eastern fringe of North Andaman group of islands and highly bioeroded fossil microatolls at the intertidal zone of Little Andaman bear the signature of permanent vertical deformation in the past.     

Long-term trend and variability of precipitation in Chhattisgarh State,India

Spatial and temporal precipitation variability in Chhattisgarh State in India was examined by using monthly precipitation data for 102 years (1901–2002) from 16 stations. The homogeneity of precipitation data was evaluated by the double-mass curve approach and the presence of serial correlation by lag-1 autocorrelation coefficient. Linear regression analysis, the conventional Mann–Kendall (MK) test, and Spearman’s rho were employed to identify trends and Sen’s slope to estimate the slope of trend line. The coefficient of variation (CV) was used to analyze precipitation variability. Spatial interpolation was done by a Kriging process using ArcGIS 9.3. Results of both parametric and non-parametric tests and trend tests showed that at 5 % significance level, annual precipitation exhibited a decreasing trend at all stations except Bilaspur and Dantewada. For both annual and monsoon precipitation, Sen’s test showed a decreasing trend for all stations, except Bilaspur and Dantewada. The highest percentage of variability was observed in winter precipitation (88.75 %) and minimum percentage variability in annual series (14.01 %) over the 102-year periods.     

Calibration and validation of a general infiltration model

A general infiltration model proposed by Singh and Yu (1990) was calibrated and validated using a split sampling approach for 191 sets of infiltration data observed in the states of Minnesota and Georgia in the USA. Of the five model parameters, f_c (the final infiltration rate), S_o (the available storage space) and exponent ‘n’ were found to be more predictable than the other two parameters: m (exponent) and a (proportionality factor). A critical examination of the general model revealed that it is related to the Soil Conservation Service (1956) curve number (SCS‐CN) method and its parameter S_o is equivalent to the potential maximum retention of the SCS‐CN method and is, in turn, found to be a function of soil sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity. The general model was found to describe infiltration rate with time varying curve number. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of urbanization on runoff characteristics of the On-Cheon Stream watershed in Pusan,Korea

This study investigated the effect of urbanization on runoff from the On-Cheon Stream watershed in Pusan, Korea. This watershed has been experiencing considerable urbanization since the 1960s. There are two gauging stations in the watershed. For one of the stations there are recent flow data and for the other flow data were observed in the past. A linear reservoir model was chosen and runoff was analysed for several flood events. The linear reservoir model has been found to generate flood hydrographs accurately for both gauging stations, and its applicability to the study area has also been established. Using two methods of computing effective rainfall or rainfall excess (ϕ-index and constant percentage method), the results of runoff analyses were investigated. The ϕ-index method yielded better results than the constant percentage method. A comparison of hydrographs observed in the past with the simulation results at the Ie-Sup bridge site revealed that the peak discharge increased and the mean lag time of the study area decreased owing to urbanization over the past two decades. It is also possible to evaluate the effect of urbanization quantitatively. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of the direct runoff hydrograph at basin outlet

A simple model describing the transformation of effective rainfall to direct runoff through the overland flow mechanism is presented. The model is based on the classical representation of a watershed by a combination of planes and channels. The dynamics of overland flow in each plane is simulated by the non-linear kinematic wave, but the outflow from a given plane is concentrated in the middle of the corresponding drainage channel. The water routing in the channels is carried out by a piece-wise linearized formulation in space of the kinematic wave approximation. Using synthetic events on 10 watersheds, the model was tested by comparing it with results obtained by applying the non-linear kinematic wave to all the elements of the watershed. The model was found to be adequate, even in a form that simplifies the geometric features of the planes through an averaging procedure based on the Horton–Strahler ordering scheme of the watershed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling soil erosion from a watershed using cubic splines

Erosion in a watershed exhibits spatial and temporal variability, and its determination is fundamental to determining sediment yield which is a key to proper watershed management. In this study, we propose a relationship between the curve number (SCS 1956) and Sediment Yield Index (SYI) using cubic splines. The method is illustrated with a case study of one watershed of Narmada Basin located in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Cubic splines are found to perform satisfactorily with Nash efficiency of 63.64%, absolute prediction error of 2.64%, integral square error of 1.22%, coefficient of correlation of 93.78% and degree of agreement of 0.99%. The relation between observed and computed SYI values is correlated with a coefficient of determination (R ²) of 0.87. Such a relationship can be used to determine SYI from the available CN value, which may be quite useful in field applications.     

Multivariate modeling of droughts using copulas and meta-heuristic methods

This study investigated the utility of two meta-heuristic algorithms to estimate parameters of copula models and for derivation of drought severity–duration–frequency (S–D–F) curves. Drought is a natural event, which has huge impact on both the society and the natural environment. Drought events are mainly characterized by their severity, duration and intensity. The study adopts standardized precipitation index for drought characterization, and copula method for multivariate risk analysis of droughts. For accurate estimation of copula model parameters, two meta-heuristic methods namely genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization are applied. The proposed methodology is applied to a case study in Trans Pecos, an arid region in Texas, USA. First, drought severity and duration are separately modeled by various probability distribution functions and then the best fitted models are selected for copula modeling. For modeling the joint dependence of drought variables, different classes of copulas, namely, extreme value copulas, Plackett and Student’s t copulas are employed and their performance is evaluated using standard performance measures. It is found that for the study region, the Gumbel–Hougaard copula is the best fitted copula model as compared to the others and is used for the development of drought S–D–F curves. Results of the study suggest that the meta-heuristic methods have greater utility in copula-based multivariate risk assessment of droughts.     

One-dimensional uniform and time varying solute dispersion along transient groundwater flow in a semi-infinite aquifer

An analytical solution for the space-time variation of contaminant concentration in one-dimensional transient groundwater flow in a homogenous semi-infinite aquifer, subjected to time-dependent source contamination, is derived. The uniform and time varying dispersion along transient groundwater flow is investigated under two conditions. First, the flow velocity distribution in the aquifer is considered as a sinusoidally varying function, and second, the flow velocity distribution is treated as an exponentially increasing function of time. It is assumed that initially the aquifer is not solute free, so the initial background concentration is considered as an exponentially decreasing function of the space variable which is tending to zero at infinity. It is assumed that dispersion is directly proportional to the square of the velocity, noting that experimental observations indicate that dispersion is directly proportional to the velocity with a power ranging from 1 to 2. The analytical solution is illustrated using an example and may help benchmark numerical codes and solutions.