Sulmachun watershed South Korea

Sulmachun catchment, Kim, 2011

Location

The catchment is located at a headwater of the Imjin River, in northwestern South Korea. The longitude of the Sulmachun catchment is between 126°55'54" and 126°54'57" and the latitude between 37°54'57" and 37°56'23"

Catchment size

8.5 km²

Climate

Mean annual rainfall for the last 5 years of the two-decade period was approximately 1500 mm while 70% of the total rainfall was generated during the Asian monsoon season between June and August. Precipitation occurs as snowfall between December and March. Mean annual evaporation was approximately 420 mm and monthly evaporation exceeded accumulated rainfall in October 2010. Temperature varied between -15 and 35°C

Geology

The hillslope bedrock is granite with negligible fracture development. Leptosol (FAO classification) is the dominant soil and an analysis of 15 soil samples indicated that the predominant soil textures were sandy loam and loamy sand. Bulk density in the downslope area varies between 1.32 and 1.38 g/cm3 with an abundance of macropores. Soil depth of the upper slopes varies between 25 and 45 cm. Depth of the root zone is approximately 20 to 30 cm.

Topography

Elevation ranges between 200 and 260 m above sea level and surface slope varies between 20° and 35°.

Vegetation/Land use

Forest coverage in the watershed is 95% Vegetation within the study area is a mixture of Polemonials, shrubby Quercus and a coniferous canopy of Pinus densiflora.

References

• Kim, S., 2014. Hydrometric transit times along transects on a steep hillslope, Water Resour. Res., 50, 7267–7284, DOI: 10.1002/2013WR014746.
• Kim, S., 2012. Configuration of hydrological processes in a steep hillslope through causality analysis of soil moisture measurements, Hydrol. Process., 26(22), 3434-3447, DOI: 10.1002/hyp.8399.
• Kim, S., Sun, H., Jung, S., 2011. Configuration of the relationship of soil moistures for vertical soil profiles on a steep hillslope using a vector time series model, J. Hydrol., 399, 353–363, DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.01.012.
• Kim, S., 2009. Characterization of soil moisture responses on a hillslope to sequential rainfall events during late autumn and spring, Water Resour. Res., 45, W09425, doi:10.1029/2008WR007239.
• Kim, S. Kim, H., 2007. Stochastic analysis of soil moisture to understand spatial and temporal variations of soil wetness at a steep hillside, J. Hydrol., 341, 1– 11, DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.04.012.