Estimating design hydrographs at the basin scale: from event-based to continuous hydrological simulation

Bibliographic Details
Title: Estimating design hydrographs at the basin scale: from event-based to continuous hydrological simulation
Authors: Fleischmann, Ayan Santos, Collischonn, Walter, Paiva, Rodrigo Cauduro Dias de
Source: RBRH. January 2019 24
Publisher Information: Associação Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos, 2019.
Publication Year: 2019
Subject Terms: Design hydrograph, Continuous simulation, Event-based simulation, Rainfall-runoff model, Hydrological modeling
More Details: Design hydrographs are widely used in practical hydrologic engineering problems. Typical applications adopt event-based (EBM) methods, using rainfall-runoff models to convert design hyetographs into design hydrographs. Uncertainties include the definition of antecedent conditions and the assumption of equivalence between hyetograph and hydrograph return periods. An alternative is to use continuous simulation (CSM) methods, by forcing a rainfall-runoff model with long precipitation series, and directly analyzing the output discharges. To better understand uncertainties in the EBM method and differences between CSM and EBM ones, we applied a hydrological model in the Itajaí-Açu river basin to compare a CSM method with 730 different simulations of an EBM one, considering different basin antecedent conditions and design hyetographs (10- and 50-years). Results indicated that the EBM method leads to a large range of design discharges depending on the antecedent condition. CS-based 10- and 50-years maximum discharges corresponded to percentiles between 30% and 50% of the EBM estimates. Higher discharge variation occurred in sub-basins with larger maximum soil water storage. Our conclusions agree with the literature, which points towards CSM-based methods to estimate design discharges.
Document Type: article
File Description: text/html
Language: English
ISSN: 2318-0331
DOI: 10.1590/2318-0331.241920180109
Access URL: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2318-03312019000100206
Rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Accession Number: edssci.S2318.03312019000100206
Database: SciELO
More Details
ISSN:23180331
DOI:10.1590/2318-0331.241920180109
Published in:RBRH
Language:English