Difference between revisions of "Carmel River Watershed: Don Juan Bridge to Highway 1 Flow Duration Analysis"
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Based on visual comparison of flow duration curves, the Carmel river from Don Juan to Highway 1 appears to exhibit watershed processes such as: | Based on visual comparison of flow duration curves, the Carmel river from Don Juan to Highway 1 appears to exhibit watershed processes such as: | ||
| − | # | + | #Storm hydrograph diffusion |
| − | # | + | #Streambed infiltration |
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 12:21, 24 February 2009
Hydrologic setting
Analysis
The flow duration curve (FDC) for the Carmel River indicates that at Don Juan Bridge, the river flows about 99.9% of the time and indicates perennial or near-perennial flow. 50% of the time, the Carmel river flows 10 m3/s or greater. 20% of the time, the Carmel river flows 100 m3/s or greater. The general smoothness of the FDC may be indicative of an unregulated flow regime. Due to the Mid-Carmel location of this stream gage, any regulations upstream may not be prominent.
The FDC for the Carmel River at Highway 1 has a smooth curve with a steep drop off indicating unregulated and uncommon flows with flow roughly 50% of the time. This gage is located in the lower Carmel watershed and considering the wide floodplain path from Don Juan Bridge to Highway 1, the carmel river may have significant loss to infiltration. Comparing the two curves, the Don Juan Bridge flow and Highway 1 flow have nearly equal duration curves with periods of very high flow ( >100 m3/s). There is also a significant separation between both curves in periods of low flow (<100 m3/s). These two observations in combination indicate either: 1. flow across the floodplains only occurs during periods with high flow 2. and/or, loss of flow due to diversion or infiltration
Summary
Based on visual comparison of flow duration curves, the Carmel river from Don Juan to Highway 1 appears to exhibit watershed processes such as:
- Storm hydrograph diffusion
- Streambed infiltration
References
