ISMC2021-39, updated on 28 Apr 2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/ismc2021-39
3rd ISMC Conference ─ Advances in Modeling Soil Systems
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

The Effect of Hillslope Geometry on Hortonian Rainfall-Infiltration-Runoff Processes

Jie Wang1,2 and Li Chen3
Jie Wang and Li Chen
  • 1Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,China
  • 2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 3Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

  Topography, one of the main factors in hillslope rainfall-runoff processes, is related to many environment problems initiated by rainfall, such as flash flood, soil erosion, and landslides, and crucial in hillslope hydrological models and large-scale hydrological-hydrodynamic models. This research investigated the effects of topography abstracted by the combination of longitudinal profile curvature and plan shape on the Hortonian rainfall-runoff processes. The results show that different profile curvature and plan shape leads to more than 10% difference in cumulative runoff and runoff rate and more than 20% difference in ponding time. Similar infiltration and runoff processes can occur on different hillslopes because of the similar slope gradient distributions, and partial area runoff can also occur in these hillslopes. The run-on effect causes more infiltration on convex hillslope topography. The soil property and rainfall temporal variability do not change the trends but can alter the magnitudes of the hillslope geometry effect. The study provides insights into the rainfall runoff processes on natural hillslopes that could benefit studies related to hillslope hydrology and geomorphology.

How to cite: Wang, J. and Chen, L.: The Effect of Hillslope Geometry on Hortonian Rainfall-Infiltration-Runoff Processes, 3rd ISMC Conference ─ Advances in Modeling Soil Systems, online, 18–22 May 2021, ISMC2021-39, https://doi.org/10.5194/ismc2021-39, 2021.