Automated algorithms for heuristic base-flow separation

作者：Schwartz Stuart S^*

来源：Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 2007, 43(6): 1583-1594.

DOI：10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00130.x

• base flow
• recession analysis
• slowflow
• hydrographs

The subjective nature of graphical base-flow separation combined with the many applications of base-flow time series derived from continuous streamflow data, motivates the development and application of automated algorithms for heuristic base-flow separation. Base-flow time series derived from gauged streamflow support diverse applications in engineering hydrology, catchment analysis, hydrogeologic investigations, regional low-flow analysis, and recharge estimation. Whether based on graphical procedures for recession analysis or analytical expressions derived from fundamental equations of ground-water flow, the variety of base-flow separation algorithms belies the array of base-flow definitions and interpretations that variously refer to dominant process, source, flow path, and characteristic response time. Algorithms that are invariant in their consistent - though heuristic - characterization of base-flow response are particularly useful for interbasin comparisons of low-flow characteristics and hydrologic regionalization. More adaptable algorithms provide application-specific flexibility in allocating flow components like interflow to either quickflow or slowflow. Four widely used algorithms that produce consistent base-flow time series using only gauged streamflow records are compared and contrasted with a complementary heuristic algorithm that incorporates hydrologic judgment explicitly, through manual parameterization. The utility of these inherently subjective algorithms is illustrated through a simple example of flow phase separation in a two-component end-member mixing model of dissolved chlorides in the Cuyahoga River.

• 出版日期2007-12