Adaptation of Precipitation Index for the Estimation of Antecedent Moisture Condition in Large Mountainous Basins
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 16, Issue 3
Abstract
The Soil Conservation Service–curve number (SCS-CN) method is widely used in hydrologic practice, but its application often goes beyond the purpose of its original use. Common practice makes the method dependent on the antecedent precipitation index, a simple indicator derived from rainfall depth, which can be used to estimate the antecedent moisture condition (AMC) of soil. By taking data from an unspecified location in the United States, the SCS defined the appropriate AMC level based on the total five-day antecedent rainfall for dormant and growing seasons. These values, originally defined as an example practice at the plot scale, were subsequently adopted for general use without full awareness of scale effects and regional differences. We propose a revision to the amount of antecedent rainfall for the definition of AMC of soil, based on the minimization of the errors between an estimated and an observed runoff volume of 347 rainfall-runoff events in large mountain basins in Italy and Switzerland. A significant correlation between the new thresholds and the topographic index is shown, thus permitting extension of the method to basins not included in this study.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded in the framework of the ACQWA EU/FP7 project (Grant No. UNSPECIFIED212250), “Assessing Climate Impacts on the Quantity and Quality of Water,” and ITERREG III B Medocc, AMPHORE, “Application of Methodologies of Hydro-Meteorological Forecast for Environmental Risk Evaluation.” This work has been made possible by the collaboration of numerous agencies who have given us access to rainfall-runoff data. Particular thanks go to the Regional Environmental Protection Agency of the Piemonte Region, the Functional Centre of Toscana, Swiss Meteo, and the Earth Science Institute of Lugano. The writers thank Donald E. Woodward and the four anonymous reviewers for comments that led to improvements in the manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 16 • Issue 3 • March 2011
Pages: 218 - 227
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 5, 2009
Accepted: Jul 26, 2010
Published online: Aug 14, 2010
Published in print: Mar 1, 2011
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