A new interpretation of kinematic stormflow generation

Abstract The paper reviews a number of possible fast and slow hydrological flow mechanisms to account for rapid runoff generation within a catchment. A new interpretation of the kinematic wave process is proposed which develops some of these concepts to explain rapid subsurface flow from a watershed. Evidence for the process is provided by the results from a laboratory soil core experiment and an investigation of the hydrology of a Dartmoor hillslope. A tension response was monitored in the soil core in which pressure waves were propagated downwards and expelled water from the base. The transmission of the wave down the core was considerably faster than the movement of a chloride tracer. The concept of this kinematic wave process and associated water flux was then extended to the Dartmoor watershed. Raindrops reaching the wet soil surface caused pressure waves to travel laterally downslope. During large rainstorms, the hillslope became hydrologically highly connected and the pressure waves forced existing water from seepage faces into the saturated area adjacent to the stream, contributing substantially to the stream discharge. A kinematic contributing area was defined, as determined by both rainfall–runoff ratios and geostatistical analyses of hillslope soil moisture contents, which extended over at least 65% of the catchment area. This kinematic wave theory is consistent with results of translatory flow and macropore flow models, and stable isotope field studies of ‘old/new’ water. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.