Liang et al. (2026) Beyond Runoff Coefficient: Revealing Global Patterns of Process Connectivity in Runoff Generation through Intensity Integration

Identification

• Journal: Hydrology and earth system sciences
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-14
• Authors: Hanxu Liang, Dedi Liu, Jiayu Zhang, Feng Yue, Yuling Zhang
• DOI: 10.5194/hess-30-4321-2026

Research Groups

• State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

Short Summary

This study proposes a novel framework to assess process connectivity in runoff generation through intensity integration. The framework combines the runoff coefficient (RC) and runoff intensity (RI) to capture both transformation ratio and rate from precipitation to runoff.

Objective

• Investigate global spatial patterns of process connectivity indicators and their influencing factors.
• Analyze temporal dynamics of process connectivity indicators across multiple temporal scales, including long-term trends and event-to-event variability.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global scale, covering 6603 catchments worldwide.
• Temporal Scale: 1950–2020 period, with a focus on long-term trends and event-scale responses to precipitation intensity.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Conceptual hydrological model based on the initial-loss and continuing-loss framework.
• Data sources: Daily observed discharge (Q), daily precipitation (P), temperature (T), soil moisture (SM), snow water equivalent (SWE) from ERA5-Land reanalysis dataset, potential evapotranspiration (PET) estimated by FAO Penman–Monteith equation.

Main Results

• The study finds that the runoff coefficient (RC) and runoff intensity (RI) exhibit distinct spatial patterns across different climate zones.
• Wet climates show higher RC values, while dry climates have higher RI values.
• Runoff efficiency (RE), calculated as the product of RC and RI, is highest in snow-dominated catchments.

Contributions

• This study provides a comprehensive understanding of process connectivity in runoff generation through intensity integration.
• The framework offers valuable insights into adaptive water resources management under changing climate conditions.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Liang2026Beyond,
  author = {Liang, Hanxu and Liu, Dedi and Zhang, Jiayu and Yue, Feng and Zhang, Yuling},
  title = {Beyond Runoff Coefficient: Revealing Global Patterns of Process Connectivity in Runoff Generation through Intensity Integration},
  journal = {Hydrology and earth system sciences},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.5194/hess-30-4321-2026},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-4321-2026}
}