TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of the continuous slope-area method to estimate runoff in a network of ephemeral channels, southeast Arizona, USA
AU - Stewart, Anne M.
AU - Callegary, James B.
AU - Smith, Christopher F.
AU - Gupta, Hoshin V.
AU - Leenhouts, James M.
AU - Fritzinger, Robert A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this research from the US Geological Survey, the Army Garrison at Fort Huachuca, the City of Sierra Vista, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service is gratefully acknowledged. This paper was improved by careful reviews provided by Michael Roark and Jeffrey Cordova of the USGS WRD, and by two anonymous reviewers.
PY - 2012/11/23
Y1 - 2012/11/23
N2 - The continuous slope-area (CSA) method is an innovative gaging method for indirect computation of complete-event discharge hydrographs that can be applied when direct measurement methods are unsafe, impractical, or impossible to apply. This paper reports on use of the method to produce event-specific discharge hydrographs in a network of sand-bedded ephemeral stream channels in southeast Arizona, USA, for water year 2008. The method provided satisfactory discharge estimates for flows that span channel banks, and for moderate to large flows, with about 10-16% uncertainty, respectively for total flow volume and peak flow, as compared to results obtained with an alternate method. Our results also suggest that the CSA method may be useful for estimating runoff of small flows, and during recessions, but with increased uncertainty.
AB - The continuous slope-area (CSA) method is an innovative gaging method for indirect computation of complete-event discharge hydrographs that can be applied when direct measurement methods are unsafe, impractical, or impossible to apply. This paper reports on use of the method to produce event-specific discharge hydrographs in a network of sand-bedded ephemeral stream channels in southeast Arizona, USA, for water year 2008. The method provided satisfactory discharge estimates for flows that span channel banks, and for moderate to large flows, with about 10-16% uncertainty, respectively for total flow volume and peak flow, as compared to results obtained with an alternate method. Our results also suggest that the CSA method may be useful for estimating runoff of small flows, and during recessions, but with increased uncertainty.
KW - Continuous slope-area method application
KW - Ephemeral stream channel flow gaging
KW - Ephemeral stream channel runoff gaging
KW - Stage data to runoff quantification
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.09.022
DO - 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.09.022
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84868301291
SN - 0022-1694
VL - 472-473
SP - 148
EP - 158
JO - Journal of Hydrology
JF - Journal of Hydrology
ER -