ABSTRACT
The generation of surface runoff and the hydraulics of overland flow are, like many hydrologic and geomorphic phenomena, characterized by high levels of spatial and temporal variability. Marked variation in hillslope runoff over short distances has been observed by many workers, including Emmett (1970), Roels (1984), Abrahams et al. (1986) and Julien & Moglen (1990). Beven (1987) and Pearce (1990) have noted that, even after considerable research has been devoted to the topic, the sources of runoff and their spatial distribution is still a subject of debate. The influence of spatial and temporal complexity on hydrologic responses of drainage basins, especially in the form of spatial
variability of hydrologic parameters, is one of the most active and critical areas of hydrologic research today (see Beven 1987, Wood et al. 1990).
