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Method for calibrating a theoretical model in karst springs: an example for a hydropower station in South China
Author(s) -
Luo Mingming,
Chen Zhihua,
Criss Robert E.,
Zhou Hong,
Jakada Hamza,
Shi Tingting
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.10950
Subject(s) - hydrograph , groundwater recharge , surface runoff , environmental science , karst , evapotranspiration , hydrology (agriculture) , precipitation , geology , meteorology , aquifer , geotechnical engineering , groundwater , ecology , paleontology , physics , biology
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.