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Stage Streamflow Intro

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El Le
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10 views37 pages

Stage Streamflow Intro

Uploaded by

El Le
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Soil macropores

Stream Capacity:
• How much can a stream carry?
– Capacity is related to:
• Velocity:
– Discharge
» Which is related to the drainage area

– Slope
» Gradient
How do you measure Gradient?
Streamflow
Direct runoff
hydrograph
• Graph of stream
discharge as a
function of time at a Baseflow
given location on the
stream Perennial river

Ephemeral river Snow-fed River


STREAMFLOW
Streamflow is generally measured by observing stage or
elevation above a specified datum, in a channel and then relating
stage to discharge via a rating curve. Rating curves are plots of
water level vs. discharge.

Water Stage
• The stage of a river is the height of the water surface above an
established reference plane.
• The requirements for the accuracy of the measurement can
differ for each different purpose. For example, the highest
accuracy is when the slope of the water surface for a relatively
short reach of the river is required.
• A wide shallow cross section needs more accurate water level
measurements than a narrow deep section.
• Stages are used to determine stage-discharge relation curves or
to estimate a discharge at a particular moment with the help of a
rating curve.
Requirements for the Watercourse During Measurement:

• The watercourse has to be straight for at least 100 m upstream


and downstream from the point of measurement for a regular
velocity distribution in the water.
• No inundation or flooding when extreme high water occurs, i.e.
50-yr return period.
• No backwater effect.
• Close to the point of measurement, measurements of velocity
have to be possible so stage-discharge curves can be compiled.
Rating Curves

Determination of the discharge of a river every time is laborious


and time consuming that’s why it is a common practice to establish a
relationship between the stage and discharge (rating curve) at a
particular station.
Rating curves are developed over time. Each
time a site is visited, stage and discharge are
recorded. After a sufficient number of stage-
discharge pairs are collected and
plotted, data are collected, a line (curve) is
drawn through the points to describe the
relation.

As additional data are collected, the rating


curve can be refined to more accurately
reflect the relation. As is noticeable in the
graph to the right, the addition of stage and
discharge measurements at high and lower
flows change the slope of the line (the rating
curve) and create a more accurate relation at
a larger range of stages. This more accurate
relation is important, because as can be seen
on the graph, the selected stage would have a
much different associated discharge with the
original rating curve (the orange vertical line)
compared to the revised rating curve with
additional data showing the discharge is
lower (green vertical line).
Rating Curves

Determination of the discharge of a river every time is laborious


and time consuming that’s why it is a common practice to establish a
relationship between the stage and discharge (rating curve) at a
particular station.
The rating curve can be approximated by the formula:

Q = a * (h − ho )
b

where, Q = discharge in m3/s


h = stage reading in m
ho = stage reading at zero flow
a, b = coefficients
Plotting Q against (h-ho) on a double logarithmic paper, produces
a straight line and thus;

Log (Q) = Log (a ) + b * Log (h − ho )


Example: Original Data Arranged Data Transformed Data
H Q HARR QARR log(h-ho) log(Q)
1.47 7.65 1.08 3.93 -0.24 0.59
4.67 88.34 1.10 5.48 -0.22 0.74
3.35 35.60 1.20 4.85 -0.15 0.69
2.77 27.45 1.22 5.34 -0.14 0.73
2.43 23.54 1.28 6.62 -0.11 0.82
2.28 26.92 1.33 7.23 -0.08 0.86
3.16 37.28 1.37 8.18 -0.06 0.91
2.49 26.30 1.40 6.54 -0.05 0.82
1.69 10.87 1.43 8.38 -0.03 0.92
1.64 12.51 1.44 8.70 -0.03 0.94
1.44 8.70 1.47 7.65 -0.01 0.88
1.43 8.38 1.64 12.51 0.06 1.10
1.67 12.34 1.67 12.34 0.07 1.09
1.37 8.18 1.69 10.87 0.08 1.04
1.77 14.86 1.77 14.86 0.10 1.17
1.79 15.88 1.79 15.88 0.11 1.20
1.40 6.54 2.28 26.92 0.25 1.43
1.28 6.62 2.43 23.54 0.29 1.37
1.33 7.23 2.49 26.30 0.30 1.42
1.22 5.34 2.77 27.45 0.36 1.44
1.20 4.85 3.16 37.28 0.42 1.57
1.08 3.93 3.35 35.60 0.45 1.55
1.10 5.48 4.67 88.34 0.62 1.95
Note: ho = 0.5
Linear Regression:

Discharge Measurements
2.5
y = 1.4742x + 0.9698
2.0

1.5
Log (Q)

1.0 Q Data Points


Linear Reg Line
0.5

0.0
-0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Log (h-ho)

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