Bankfull Hydraulic Geometry Relationships for Rivers and Streams of the Western and Southwest Regions of Paran� State, Brazil

Abstract

This study presents regional hydraulic geometry relationships for rivers and streams in the western and southwestern regions of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Regional hydraulic geometry relates the area of the river basin to the dimensions of the river channel (width, depth, channel capacity) and the flow measured at bankfull stage by potential functions. Both regions integrate a homogeneous area in the basaltic plateau of the Paraná sedimentary river basin. The climate is humid sub-tropical and the average rainfall is 1,830 mm annually. The nesting of the rivers in the study area does not allow the development of alluvial plains. For this reason, sandy deposits deposited by floods were used as a reference in defining bankfull stages. The data were collected by 46 fluviometric stations and reference sections, whose drainage areas ranged from 0.44 to 17,400 km 2 . The coefficients of determination (R 2 ) of the equations reached values between 0.911 and 0.966 and were valid for the studied regions and for alluvial stretches in rural areas.

Understanding hydrological connectivity: an empirical study of river-aquifer interaction across Brazil

“…While the United States has established such relationships for nearly all streams, Brazil lacks a national dataset for these estimates. Local equations, such as those developed by Fernandez (2017) for a portion of the state of Paraná, exist but are limited.…”