Rainfall-runoff processes (uplands, forests & tropics):
My research focuses on rainfall-runoff processes within upland UK and the equatorial tropics. These hydrological processes are regulated by meteorological and watershed effects and are impacted by land-use changes, such as those resulting from forestry operations. The rainfall-runoff pathways then regulate flood responses, erosion, sediment delivery and a range of water quality characteristics. The current rates of development of forested areas within the humid tropics in particular, mean that changes to water pathways and the resultant impacts on water resources are profound within this region, and research utilising new sensor and modelling technologies needed.
Examples of our research on the controls and impacts of rainfall-runoff processes:
Meteorological effects
e.g., Chappell, N.A., Jones, T.D., Tych, W. and Krishnaswamy, J. 2017. Role of rainstorm intensity underestimated by data-derived flood models: emerging global evidence from subsurface-dominated watersheds. Environmental Modelling and Software, 88: 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.10.009 view paper (pdf)
Watershed effects
e.g., Ockenden M.C. and Chappell, N.A. 2011. Identification of the dominant runoff pathways from the data-based mechanistic modelling of nested catchments in temperate UK. Journal of Hydrology, 402, 71-79. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.03.001 view paper (pdf).
Forestry & other land-use impacts
e.g., Chappell, N.A., and Tych, W. 2012. Identifying step changes in single streamflow and evaporation records due to forest cover change. Hydrological Processes, 26: 100-116. doi:10.1002/hyp.8115. view paper (pdf).
Water quality consequences
e.g., Jones, T.D., Chappell, N.A. and Tych, W. 2014. First dynamic model of dissolved organic carbon derived directly from high frequency observations through contiguous storms. Environmental Science & Technology, 48: 13289-13297. doi: 10.1021/es503506m view online or as pdf and Supplementary Information (pdf).
Pan-tropical regionalisation
e.g., Wohl, E., Barros, A., Brunsell, N., Chappell, N.A, Coe, M., Giambelluca, T., Goldsmith, S., Harmon, R., Hendrickx, J., Juvik, J., McDonnell, J., and Ogden, F. 2012. The hydrology of the humid tropics. Nature Climate Change, 2: 655-662 doi: 10.1038/nclimate1556. view paper (pdf).
Links:
Go to DVFC rainfall data
Go to DVFC hydrology page
Go to NERC Project GR3/9439 gauging structure photos
Go to River Wyre (Lancashire) hydrometry
Go to old projects page