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SHA Yukun, LI Weipeng, FAN Jihui, CHENG Genwei. Determining Critical Support Discharge of a Riverhead and River Network Analysis:Case Studies of Lhasa River and Nyangqu River[J]. Chinese Geographical Science, 2016, 26(4): 456-465. doi: 10.1007/s11769-015-0760-3
Citation: SHA Yukun, LI Weipeng, FAN Jihui, CHENG Genwei. Determining Critical Support Discharge of a Riverhead and River Network Analysis:Case Studies of Lhasa River and Nyangqu River[J]. Chinese Geographical Science, 2016, 26(4): 456-465. doi: 10.1007/s11769-015-0760-3
shu

Determining Critical Support Discharge of a Riverhead and River Network Analysis:Case Studies of Lhasa River and Nyangqu River

doi: 10.1007/s11769-015-0760-3
  • 1.

    Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Process and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazard and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China;

  • 2.

    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Funds:  Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31070405), Knowledge Innovation Programs of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-XB3-08)
More Information
  • Corresponding author: CHENG Genwei
  • Received Date: 2014-04-25
  • Rev Recd Date: 2014-08-05
  • Publish Date: 2016-08-27
  • A riverhead is the demarcation point of continuous water channel and seasonal channel, which is characterized by a critical flow that can support a continuous water body. In this study, the critical support discharge (CSD) is defined as the critical steady flows required to form the origin of a stream. The CSD is used as the criterion to determine the beginning of the riverhead, which can be controlled by hydro-climate factors (e.g., annual precipitation, annual evaporation, or minimum stream flow in arid season). The CSD has a close correlation with the critical support/source area (CSA) that largely affects the density of the river network and the division of sub-watersheds. In general, river density may vary with regional meteorological and hydrological conditions that have to be considered in the analysis. In this paper, a new model referring to the relationship of CSA and CSD is proposed, which is based on the physical mechanism for the origin of riverheads. The feasibility of the model was verified using two watersheds (Duilongqu Basin of the Lhasa River and Beishuiqu Basin of the Nyangqu River) in Tibet Autonomous Region to calculate the CSA and extract river networks. A series of CSAs based on different CSDs in derived equation were tested by comparing the extracted river networks with the reference network obtained from a digitized map of river network at large scales. Comparison results of river networks derived from digital elevation model with real ones indicate that the CSD (equal to criterion of flow quantity (Qc)) are 0.0028 m3/s in Duilongqu and 0.0085 m3/s in Beishuiqu. Results show that the Qc can vary with hydro-climate conditions. The Qc is high in humid region and low in arid region, and the optimal Qc of 0.0085 m3/s in Beishuiqu Basin (humid region) is higher than 0.0028 m3/s in Duilongqu Basin (semi-arid region). The suggested method provides a new application approach that can be used to determine the Qc of a riverhead in complex geographical regions, which can also reflect the effect of hydro-climate change on rivers supply in different regions.
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Determining Critical Support Discharge of a Riverhead and River Network Analysis:Case Studies of Lhasa River and Nyangqu River

doi: 10.1007/s11769-015-0760-3
  • 1. Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Process and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazard and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China;
  • 2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Funds:  Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31070405), Knowledge Innovation Programs of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-XB3-08)
    Corresponding author: CHENG Genwei
  • Received Date: 2014-04-25
  • Rev Recd Date: 2014-08-05
  • Publish Date: 2016-08-27

Abstract: A riverhead is the demarcation point of continuous water channel and seasonal channel, which is characterized by a critical flow that can support a continuous water body. In this study, the critical support discharge (CSD) is defined as the critical steady flows required to form the origin of a stream. The CSD is used as the criterion to determine the beginning of the riverhead, which can be controlled by hydro-climate factors (e.g., annual precipitation, annual evaporation, or minimum stream flow in arid season). The CSD has a close correlation with the critical support/source area (CSA) that largely affects the density of the river network and the division of sub-watersheds. In general, river density may vary with regional meteorological and hydrological conditions that have to be considered in the analysis. In this paper, a new model referring to the relationship of CSA and CSD is proposed, which is based on the physical mechanism for the origin of riverheads. The feasibility of the model was verified using two watersheds (Duilongqu Basin of the Lhasa River and Beishuiqu Basin of the Nyangqu River) in Tibet Autonomous Region to calculate the CSA and extract river networks. A series of CSAs based on different CSDs in derived equation were tested by comparing the extracted river networks with the reference network obtained from a digitized map of river network at large scales. Comparison results of river networks derived from digital elevation model with real ones indicate that the CSD (equal to criterion of flow quantity (Qc)) are 0.0028 m3/s in Duilongqu and 0.0085 m3/s in Beishuiqu. Results show that the Qc can vary with hydro-climate conditions. The Qc is high in humid region and low in arid region, and the optimal Qc of 0.0085 m3/s in Beishuiqu Basin (humid region) is higher than 0.0028 m3/s in Duilongqu Basin (semi-arid region). The suggested method provides a new application approach that can be used to determine the Qc of a riverhead in complex geographical regions, which can also reflect the effect of hydro-climate change on rivers supply in different regions.

SHA Yukun, LI Weipeng, FAN Jihui, CHENG Genwei. Determining Critical Support Discharge of a Riverhead and River Network Analysis:Case Studies of Lhasa River and Nyangqu River[J]. Chinese Geographical Science, 2016, 26(4): 456-465. doi: 10.1007/s11769-015-0760-3
Citation: SHA Yukun, LI Weipeng, FAN Jihui, CHENG Genwei. Determining Critical Support Discharge of a Riverhead and River Network Analysis:Case Studies of Lhasa River and Nyangqu River[J]. Chinese Geographical Science, 2016, 26(4): 456-465. doi: 10.1007/s11769-015-0760-3
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