Regional Patterns of Baseflow Variability in Mexican Subwatersheds

• Main Authors: Víctor Salas-Aguilar, Antonia Macedo-Cruz, Fernando Paz, Enrique Palacios, Carlos Ortiz, Abel Quevedo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-03-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: runoff; invariance; non-linear model; recession parameter; symmetry
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/3/98
• ISSN: 2073-4441

One of the challenges faced by subwatershed hydrology is the discovery of patterns associated with climate and landscape variability with the available data. This study has three objectives: (1) to evaluate the annual recession curves; (2) to relate the recession parameter (RP) with physiographic characteristics of 21 Mexican subwatersheds in different climate regions; and (3) to formulate a Baseflow (BF) model based on a top-down approach. The RP was calibrated utilizing the largest magnitude curves. The RP was related to topographical, climate and soil variables. A non-linear model was employed to separate the baseflow which considers RP as a recharge rate. Our results show that RP increases with longitude and decreases with latitude. RP displayed a sustained non-linear behavior determined by precipitation rate and evapotranspiration replace the P/E parts with \(\frac{P}{E}\) over years and subwatersheds. The model was fit to a parameter concurrent with invariance and space-time symmetry conditions. The dispersion of our model was associated with the product of replace the P/E parts with \(\frac{P}{E}\) by the aquifer’s transmissivity. We put forward a generalized baseflow model, which made the discrimination of baseflow from direct flow in subwatersheds possible. The proposed model involves the recharge-storage-discharge relation and could be implemented in basins where there are no suitable ground-based data.