A new baseflow separation method based on analytical solutions of the Horton infiltration capacity curve

Abstract The separation of baseflow is an important issue in hydrology. The objective of this paper is to develop a new baseflow separation method based on the Horton infiltration capacity curve. For this purpose, the mathematical expressions of three parameters for the Horton infiltration capacity curve were derived in terms of rainfall and runoff data, and the lag time of the effective rainfall in the unsaturated zone and the groundwater flow routing equation are also presented. With these equations, the baseflow hydrographs at the outlet of the basin can be separated. The flow chart of the proposed method for baseflow hydrograph separation is given. Three recent baseflow separation methods, i.e. digital filter, non‐linear reservoir and the Boussinesq equation, were chosen as parallel schemes to compare with the proposed method. Rainfall‐runoff data from four watersheds located in different climatic regions in China were selected and used as case studies. Test and application results indicate that the proposed baseflow hydrograph separation method is in accordance with the hydrological physical process. The proposed method is comparable with current available methods and reduces some of the subjective aspects for the rising limb of the baseflow hydrograph, and it is useful for unit hydrograph analysis and for the study of the rainfall‐runoff relationship. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.