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18 - Variability of Runoff Coefficient and Precipitation Elasticity at Watersheds across China

from Part III - Sustainable Water Management under Future Uncertainty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2022

By
Yin Tang ,
Qiuhong Tang  and
Zhonggen Wang
Edited by
Qiuhong Tang  and
Guoyong Leng
Qiuhong Tang
Affiliation:
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
Guoyong Leng
Affiliation:
Oxford University Centre for the Environment
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Summary

Precipitation elasticity is an efficient index to quantify the sensitivity of streamflow to precipitation changes in watersheds. It provides us with a tool to understand the historical and predicted changes in streamflow, which is key to assess the impact of climate change on water resources. This chapter provides the details of three frequently used methods for estimating precipitation elasticity of streamflow and a case study on the temporal and spatial variability of precipitation elasticity and runoff coefficient in 164 watersheds in China. The precipitation elasticity is estimated by a non-parametric estimator in three periods of interest. The results bring evidence of an association between spatiotemporal patterns of streamflow changes and precipitation changes, which suggest that climatic change is a dominant factor of annual streamflow changes in the investigated watersheds. In most watersheds, the precipitation elasticity of streamflow is larger than 1, indicating that a 1 per cent change in annual precipitation would result in more than a 1 per cent change in annual streamflow. The precipitation elasticity in watersheds with a small runoff coefficient is generally larger than that in watersheds with a large runoff coefficient.

Keywords

Precipitation elasticityVariabilityStreamflowNonparametric estimatorChina
Type
Chapter
Information
Climate Risk and Sustainable Water Management , pp. 401 - 419
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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