Rainfall spatial-heterogeneity accelerates landscape evolution processes

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Accès restreint UNIL
Etat: Public
Version: Final published version
Licence: CC BY 4.0
ID Serval
serval:BIB_786DE613A955
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Titre
Rainfall spatial-heterogeneity accelerates landscape evolution processes
Périodique
Geomorphology
Auteur⸱e⸱s
Peleg Nadav, Skinner Chris, Ramirez Jorge Alberto, Molnar Peter
ISSN
0169-555X
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
10/2021
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
390
Pages
107863
Langue
anglais
Résumé
Catchment hydro-morphological response is mainly conditioned on rainfall properties, such as rainfall intensity, storm duration and frequency, and the timing of these events. Rainfall spatial variability is likewise a major determinant affecting streamflow, erosion, and sediment transport, and is explored largely in the context of heavy rain triggering floods and fast morphological changes on hillslopes and in channels. In this study, we examine how the spatial structure of rainfall influences landscape evolution at the catchment scale over hundreds of years. To achieve this, multiple realizations of hourly rainfall fields, each differing only by their spatial distribution but identical in all other respects, were simulated using a weather generator. The impact of storm spatial-heterogeneity on the catchment morphology was then assessed with a landscape evolution model (CAESAR-Lisflood). A virtual “open-book” type catchment was used for this numerical experiment. The mean streamflow and low-flows remained the same while the magnitude of the annual peak streamflow increased by up to 12% in response to higher rainfall spatial heterogeneity. However, the erosion and deposition rates significantly increased (up to 50%) and the net erosion and deposition areas changed (increased by up to 9% and decreased by 13.5%, respectively) when the rain became less uniform in space. Furthermore, new gullies were found to be longer, deeper, and more branched in response to increased rainfall heterogeneity. The results suggest that heterogeneity in rainfall spatial patterns speeds up landscape development, even when rainfall volumes and temporal structures are the same. This implies that the spatial structure of rainfall may have more of an influence on catchment morphology at long time scales than previously thought.
Mots-clé
Earth-Surface Processes
Open Access
Oui
Création de la notice
09/08/2021 14:56
Dernière modification de la notice
15/11/2022 15:04
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