Low flow hydrological regimes and their characterization are crucial for an efficient development of water resources management tools, especially in those areas stressed by the combination of a dry climate and an excessive water demand, such as the Mediterranean basins. Consequently, a lot of effort has been made by the worldwide scientific community toward the prediction of low flows features in ungauged catchments. The aims of the present study are: (1) the quantification of low flows characteristics, both at the annual and seasonal scale, in particular with regard to the BFI, one of the most important low flow features, and (2) the application of a simple regional approach to predict the BFI at ungauged sites. The investigated area is located in North West Algeria and has an extension of about 130000 Km2. The relevant extension and the poorly dense monitoring network, which consist in 24 hydrometric stations, require the identification of homogeneous regions, for further application of simple linear regional regression models. Regions delineation is accomplished through the Principal Component Analysis method (PCA) and the cluster analysis, based on geographic, physiographic and climatic data. Five homogeneous and geographically contiguous areas have been identified, and comparisons between global and local regional linear regression models, indicate a large percentage of BFI which explain variance in each area.
Low flows quantification and regionalization in North West Algeria
LONGOBARDI, Antonia
2010-01-01
Abstract
Low flow hydrological regimes and their characterization are crucial for an efficient development of water resources management tools, especially in those areas stressed by the combination of a dry climate and an excessive water demand, such as the Mediterranean basins. Consequently, a lot of effort has been made by the worldwide scientific community toward the prediction of low flows features in ungauged catchments. The aims of the present study are: (1) the quantification of low flows characteristics, both at the annual and seasonal scale, in particular with regard to the BFI, one of the most important low flow features, and (2) the application of a simple regional approach to predict the BFI at ungauged sites. The investigated area is located in North West Algeria and has an extension of about 130000 Km2. The relevant extension and the poorly dense monitoring network, which consist in 24 hydrometric stations, require the identification of homogeneous regions, for further application of simple linear regional regression models. Regions delineation is accomplished through the Principal Component Analysis method (PCA) and the cluster analysis, based on geographic, physiographic and climatic data. Five homogeneous and geographically contiguous areas have been identified, and comparisons between global and local regional linear regression models, indicate a large percentage of BFI which explain variance in each area.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
