Hydrograph separation: an impartial parametrisation for an imperfect method

Abstract

This paper presents a new method for hydrograph separation. It is well-known that all hydrological methods aiming at separating streamflow into baseflow – its slow or delayed component – and quickflow – its non-delayed component – present large imperfections, and we do not claim to provide here a perfect solution. However, the method described here is at least (i) impartial in the determination of its two parameters (a quadratic reservoir capacity and a response time), (ii) coherent in time (as assessed by a split-sample test) and (iii) geologically coherent (an exhaustive validation on 1664 French catchments shows a good match with what we know of France's hydrogeology). With these characteristics, the method can be used to perform a general assessment of hydroclimatic memory of catchments. Last, an R package is provided to ensure reproducibility of the results presented.