Point locations of daily flow rates in the Canadian River watershed derived from hydrologic modeling 1994-2013

The development of a hydrologic foundation, essential for advancing our understanding of flow-ecology relationships, was accomplished using the high-resolution physics-based distributed rainfall-runoff model Vflo. We compared the accuracy and bias associated with flow metrics that were generated using Vflo at both a daily and monthly time step in the Canadian River basin, USA. First, we calibrated and applied bias correction to the Vflo model to simulate streamflow at ungaged catchment locations. Next, flow metrics were calculated using both simulated and observed data from stream gage locations. We found discharge predictions using Vflo were more accurate than using drainage area ratios. General correspondence between predicted discharge and the gage data was apparent; however, flow metrics calculated using the Vflo output did not accurately represent flow variability. This work was part of a multidisciplinary project describing water quality, streamflow and runoff, and ecology of the Canadian River Basin from northeastern New Mexico to Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma. This study was done in cooperation with the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center.