Mapping of runoff applying objective methods and GIS

Abstract

An important task in regional hydrology is to determine water budgets at a ‘high’ spatial and temporal scale across large drainage basins, countries or continents. Water budget mapping is important in the optimal planning and management of water resources. Water budgets also have a valuable role in providing empirical evidence for macroscale hydrological models for grid or basin networks. Hydrological components of such budgets are determined from observed streamflow data. Traditionally, contour maps indicating runoff variations across space have been used to present the results of such studies.