TY  - JOUR
A1  - Creutzfeldt, Benjamin
A1  - Troch, Peter A.
A1  - Guentner, Andreas
A1  - Ferre, Ty P. A.
A1  - Gräff, Thomas
A1  - Merz, Bruno
T1  - Storage-discharge relationships at different catchment scales based on local high-precision gravimetry
JF  - Hydrological processes
N2  - In hydrology, the storage-discharge relationship is a fundamental catchment property. Understanding what controls this relationship is at the core of catchment science. To date, there are no direct methods to measure water storage at catchment scales (10(1)-10(3)km(2)). In this study, we use direct measurements of terrestrial water storage dynamics by means of superconducting gravimetry in a small headwater catchment of the Regen River, Germany, to derive empirical storage-discharge relationships in nested catchments of increasing scale. Our results show that the local storage measurements are strongly related to streamflow dynamics at larger scales (> 100km(2); correlation coefficient=0.78-0.81), but at small scale, no such relationship exists (similar to 1km(2); correlation coefficients=-0.11). The geologic setting in the region can explain both the disconnection between local water storage and headwater runoff, and the connectivity between headwater storage and streams draining larger catchment areas. More research is required to understand what controls the form of the observed storage-discharge relationships at the catchment scale. This study demonstrates that high-precision gravimetry can provide new insights into the complex relationship between state and response of hydrological systems.
KW  - water storage
KW  - high-precision gravimeter
KW  - storage-discharge relationship
KW  - nested catchments
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9689
SN  - 0885-6087
SN  - 1099-1085
VL  - 28
IS  - 3
SP  - 1465
EP  - 1475
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -