Kinematic wave approximations to hillslope hydrological processes in tills

• This work has been carried out within the framework of NOPEX - a NOrthern hemisphere climate Processes land surface EXperiment. Its purpose is to describe the spatial variability of groundwater levels and soil moisture content and their influence on runoff generation in small catchments in a landscape dominated by boreal forest and till soils, which is characteristic for the Nordic countries. Kinematic wave approximations have been used to describe saturated subsurface flow and saturation overland flow in hillslopes with a thin soil layer overlying a relatively impermeable bedrock. Simultaneous analyses of catchment runoff, groundwater-table depths and soil moisture in the unsaturated zone have been performed by including the kinematic wave descriptions in a precipitation-runoff model. The results have been compared with observed hydrographs and spatial patterns of groundwater levels and soil moisture content in two small experimental catchments. Results from this study indicate that is reasonable to apply the same parameter set when describing hydrological processes in computational elements with similar characteristics at a scale of about 1 km(2) in the NOPEX area. 

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Oceanografi, hydrologi och vattenresurser (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Oceanography, Hydrology and Water Resources (hsv//eng)

Keyword

kinematic wave

till deposits

groundwater flow

saturation overland flow

precipitation-runoff model

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)