Method for calibrating a theoretical model in karst springs: an example for a hydropower station in South China |
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| Authors: | Mingming Luo Zhihua Chen Robert E. Criss Hong Zhou Hamza Jakada Tingting Shi |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China;2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, USA;3. Geological Survey of China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China;4. Three Gorges Research for Geo‐Hazard, Ministry of Education, Wuhan, Hubei, China |
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| Abstract: | A theoretical, dimensionless rainfall–runoff model was used to simulate the discharge of Wulongdong spring in western Hubei province, South China. The single parameter (time constant τ) in the model is easy to obtain by fitting the recession rate of the observed hydrographs. The model was scaled by simply matching the total annual flow volume of the model to the observed value. Annual distribution of actual evapotranspiration was embedded in the model input to calculate the accumulated deficit of soil moisture before each rain event. Hourly precipitation input data performed better than daily data, defining τ of 0.85 days and returning a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.89 and the root mean square error of 0.07. This model offers an effective way to simulate the discharge of karst springs that respond sensitively to rainfall events. The model parameters of a successful simulation can be used to estimate the recharge area and indicate the intrinsic response time of the basin. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | rainfall– runoff model karst spring simulation recharge area |
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