Predicting and Mapping the Average Hydrologic Response for the Eastern United States

Authors:
  • JWJames F. Woodruff
    James F. Woodruff
  • JHJohn D. Hewlett
    John D. Hewlett
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Abstract
An attempt was made to predict the average annual hydrologic response (ratio of annual direct runoff to annual precipitation) of ungaged watersheds in the East by regression against 15 planimetric, hypsometric, and land use factors available on 90 selected test basins (2 to 100 square miles) from New York to Alabama. The regression coefficients were nonsignificant indicating that the average percentage of a basin's annual precipitation that will become quick flow cannot be predicted from available basin morphometry and implying that response is controlled chiefly by porous mantle factors not measurable on normal data sources. A hydrologic response map of the eastern United States based on an expanded set of 201 basins up to 200 square miles revealed specific regions of high flood producing potential clearly related to geologic provinces. It is suggested that hydrologic response is a meaningful parameter that may be best derived by measuring precipitation and streamflow by cheap, short‐term methods traditionally rejected as uneconomical.

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