Field Test of the Variable Source Area Interpretation of the Curve Number Rainfall-Runoff Equation
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 3
Abstract
The Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method is a widely used empirical rainfall-runoff equation. Although the physical basis of the method has been debated, several researchers have suggested that it can be used to predict the watershed fraction that is saturated and generating runoff by saturation excess from variable source areas (VSAs). In this paper, we compare saturated runoff-contributing areas predicted with the VSA interpretation of the SCS-CN method with field-measured VSAs in a 0.5 ha hillslope in central New York State. We installed a trench below a VSA and simultaneously recorded water flux from different soil layers at the trench face and water table dynamics upslope of the trench. This setup allowed us to monitor runoff initiation and saturation-excess overland flow in response to rainfall and different water table depths in the hillslope during 16 storm events. We found that the SCS-CN method accurately predicted the observed VSA and showed best agreement if the VSA was defined as the area where the water table was within 10 cm of the soil surface. These results not only demonstrate that the VSA interpretation of the SCS-CN method accurately predicts VSA extents in small watersheds but also that the transient water table does not necessarily need to intersect the land surface to cause a storm runoff response.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the USDA CSREES for project funding (Grant # USDA00-51130-9777) of this research. We also would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 3 • March 2012
Pages: 235 - 244
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 25, 2010
Accepted: May 10, 2011
Published online: Feb 15, 2012
Published in print: Mar 1, 2012
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