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

建议的研究方向是：1)识别包括土壤质地在内的景观属性模式；植被、微观和宏观地形以及2)确定这些模式影响华盛顿州东部半干旱流域水文行为的方式。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空和高空航空摄影的各种尺度上进行分布观测。空间分析技术将应用于水文影响性质分布的数学特征模式。然后将连续尺度上的模式进行叠加，以确定相互作用过程及其尺度依赖性如何反映流域水文响应。水文影响特性在景观上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。预期这些不同尺度上的模式组合将反映在水文过程的动态中；包括渗透，蒸散，径流和补给。对不同尺度的景观格局及其特性的描述，以及它们与水文过程的关系，应该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.