High resolution temperature observations to identify different runoff processes

Abstract

Headwater catchments are important contributors to streamflow. They are small, but all combined they influence river flow significantly. To be able to make proper runoff predictions under different climate conditions and changing land use, it is important to have detailed understanding of the discharge processes in the headwater catchments. In this rersearch the possibilities of fibre optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) are explored to obtain more insight in temporal and spatial discharge dynamics during stormflow. DTS is a technique capable of measuring temperature with high spatial and temporal resolution. The technique relies on short laser pulses that are sent through a fibre optic cable. Throughout the fibre optic cable small parts of the pulses are reflected by disturbances in the glass fibre, of which the exact position is obtained by measuring the travel time of the reflected light. All experiments were done in the Maisbich: a 565 m long, first order stream in Central Luxembourg.