---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '22577'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: The spatio-temporal variability of rainfall, especially at fine temporal and
    spatial scales can significantly affect flood generation, leading to a large variability
    in the flood response and uncertainty in its prediction. In this study we quantify
    the impact of rainfall spatial and temporal structure on the catchment hydrological
    response based on a numerical experiment. Rainfall ensembles generated using a
    state-of-the-art space–time stochastic model are used as input into a distributed
    process-based hydrological model. The sensitivity of the hydrograph to several
    structural characteristics of storm rainfall for three soil moisture initial conditions
    is numerically assessed at the basin outlet of an Alpine catchment in central
    Switzerland. The results highlight that the flood response is strongly affected
    by the temporal correlation of rainfall and to a lesser extent by its spatial
    variability. Initial soil moisture conditions play a paramount role in mediating
    the response. We identify the underlying mechanistic explanations in terms of
    runoff generation and connectivity of saturated areas that determine the sensitivity
    of flood response to the spatio-temporal variability of rainfall. We show that
    the element that mostly influences both the flood peak and the time of peak occurrence
    is the clustering of saturated areas in the catchment which leads to local enhanced
    runoff.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Athanasios
  full_name: Paschalis, Athanasios
  last_name: Paschalis
- first_name: Simone
  full_name: Fatichi, Simone
  id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
  last_name: Fatichi
- first_name: Peter
  full_name: Molnar, Peter
  last_name: Molnar
- first_name: Stefan
  full_name: Rimkus, Stefan
  last_name: Rimkus
- first_name: Paolo
  full_name: Burlando, Paolo
  last_name: Burlando
citation:
  ama: Paschalis A, Fatichi S, Molnar P, Rimkus S, Burlando P. On the effects of small
    scale space–time variability of rainfall on basin flood response. <i>Journal of
    Hydrology</i>. 2014;514:313-327. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014">10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014</a>
  apa: Paschalis, A., Fatichi, S., Molnar, P., Rimkus, S., &#38; Burlando, P. (2014).
    On the effects of small scale space–time variability of rainfall on basin flood
    response. <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>. Elsevier. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014</a>
  chicago: Paschalis, Athanasios, Simone Fatichi, Peter Molnar, Stefan Rimkus, and
    Paolo Burlando. “On the Effects of Small Scale Space–Time Variability of Rainfall
    on Basin Flood Response.” <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>. Elsevier, 2014. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014</a>.
  ieee: A. Paschalis, S. Fatichi, P. Molnar, S. Rimkus, and P. Burlando, “On the effects
    of small scale space–time variability of rainfall on basin flood response,” <i>Journal
    of Hydrology</i>, vol. 514. Elsevier, pp. 313–327, 2014.
  ista: Paschalis A, Fatichi S, Molnar P, Rimkus S, Burlando P. 2014. On the effects
    of small scale space–time variability of rainfall on basin flood response. Journal
    of Hydrology. 514, 313–327.
  mla: Paschalis, Athanasios, et al. “On the Effects of Small Scale Space–Time Variability
    of Rainfall on Basin Flood Response.” <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>, vol. 514, Elsevier,
    2014, pp. 313–27, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014">10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014</a>.
  short: A. Paschalis, S. Fatichi, P. Molnar, S. Rimkus, P. Burlando, Journal of Hydrology
    514 (2014) 313–327.
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:25Z
date_published: 2014-06-06T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-10T12:09:26Z
day: '06'
doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.04.014
extern: '1'
intvolume: '       514'
keyword:
- Flood response
- Hydrological modeling
- Stochastic rainfall modeling
- STREAP
language:
- iso: eng
month: '06'
oa_version: None
page: 313-327
publication: Journal of Hydrology
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1879-2707
  issn:
  - 0022-1694
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: On the effects of small scale space–time variability of rainfall on basin flood
  response
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 514
year: '2014'
...