The hydrologic cycle results from the combination of energy conversions and atmospheric transport, and the laws of thermodynamics set limits to both. Here, we apply thermodynamics to derive the limits of the strength of hydrologic cycling within the Earth system and about the properties and processes that shape these limits. We set up simple models to derive analytical expressions of the limits...

Decision support for planning and management of water resources needs to consider many target criteria simultaneously like water availability, water quality, flood protection, agriculture, ecology, etc. Hydrologic models provide information about the water balance components and are fundamental for the simulation of ecological processes. Objective of this contribution is to discuss the suitabil...

Hydrologic processes in the pinyon-juniper woodlands of the western region of the United States are variable because of the inherent interactions among the occurring precipitation regimes, geomorphological settings, and edaphic conditions that characterize the ecosystem. A wide range of past and present land-use practices further complicates comprehensive evaluations of these hydrologic process...

An ensemble local hydrologic forecast derived from the seasonal forecasts of the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction (IRI) is presented. Three-month seasonal forecasts were used to resample historical meteorological conditions and generate ensemble forcing datasets for a TOPMODEL-based hydrology model. Eleven retrospective forecasts were run at Florida and New York sites. Fo...

Basin hydrologic response is a function of soil moisture distributional featuresAn information-based dimensionless index of hydrologic complexity is appliedThe complexity index characterizes soil moisture distributional features.

We used a retrospective approach to identify hydrologic metrics with the greatest potential for ecological relevance for use as resource management tools (i.e., hydrologic indicators) in rapidly urbanizing basins of the Puget Lowland. We proposed four criteria for identifying useful hydrologic indicators: (1) sensitive to urbanization consistent with expected hydrologic response, (2) demonstrat...

In this study, a hands-on modeling tool is developed for students in civil engineering and earth science disciplines to help them learn the fundamentals of hydrologic processes and basic concepts of model calibration and sensitivity analysis, and practice conceptual thinking in solving and analysis of engineering problems. This modeling tool aims to provide an interdisciplinary application-orie...

Hydrologic models can be categorized as being either Newtonian or Darwinian in nature. The Newtonian approach requires a thorough understanding of the individual physical processes acting in a watershed in order to build a detailed hydrologic model based on the conservation equations. The Darwinian approach seeks to explain the behavior of a hydrologic system as a whole by identifying simple an...