Patterns, Scale, and Hydrology in a Semi-Arid Catchment

这项研究的目的是：1)确定包括土壤质地、植被、微观和宏观地形在内的景观属性的模式；2)确定这些模式对华盛顿州东部半干旱集水区水文行为的影响方式。由于这些景观属性的变化发生在不同的尺度上，因此将在从野外测绘到低海拔和高海拔航空摄影的各种尺度上对分布进行观测。空间分析技术将被应用于从数学上描述影响水文特性的分布模式。然后将连续尺度上的模式叠加，以努力确定相互作用的过程及其尺度依赖性如何反映流域的水文响应。景观上影响水文的特性的分布将与测量的水文性能相关，强调入渗和土壤水分，因为该地区的径流很少。预计不同尺度上的这些模式组合将反映在水文过程的动态中；包括入渗、蒸散、径流和补给。描述不同尺度上的景观格局及其属性，以及它们与水文过程的关系，应有助于深入了解景观特征和水文过程相互作用的机制。

The proposed research is directed toward 1) identifying patterns of landscape properties including soil texture; vegetation and micro- and macro-topography and 2) determining the way in which these patterns influence hydrologic behavior of a semi-arid catchment in eastern Washington state. Because variations in these landscape properties occur at various scales, observations of the distributions will be made at scales ranging from field mapping to low-and high-altitude aerial photography. Spatial analysis techniques will be applied to mathematically characterize patterns in the distributions of the hydrology-affecting properties. Patterns at successive scales will then be superimposed in an effort to determine how the interacting processes and their scale dependencies reflect the basin hydrologic response. The distributions of the hydrology-affecting properties on the landscape will be correlated to measured hydrologic performance, emphasizing infiltration and soil moisture because runoff is rare in the region. It is expected that these combinations of patterns at various scales will be reflected in the dynamics of the hydrologic processes; including infiltration, evapotranspiration, runoff, and recharge. Description of landscape patterns and their properties at different scales, along with their relationship to hydrologic processes, should provide insight into the mechanisms by which landscape features and hydrologic processes interact.