Investigating spatial and temporal variability in runoff and sediment generation using a physically-based model, Thales

Abstract

Limited within-day rainfall data availability has led to a paradigm of daily hydrological modelling that conflicts with key process timescales, resulting in poor modelling of runoff and particularly erosion. A new hydrological modelling framework that accounts for variation in rainfall, runoff and erosion across the landscape, and within each day using a statistical approach, has been developed. The ultimate aim is to develop a model for estimating runoff and erosion that is consistent with key process time and space scales. Central to this aim is to be able to run the model using daily precipitation data with a distribution function (DF) model to account for sub-daily variations in precipit..