Rainfall-runoff relationship in Murat River basin

This study was carried out to examine rainfall-runoff relationship in the Murat River Basin which constitutes the Middle Euphrates River in Türkiye. Geographic Information System was used to determine the boundaries and characteristics of the basin and subbasins. Nine existing and an old subbasin were determined. Mean flow records of ten flow observation stations and meteorological records of thirty meteorological observation stations were used in the analyses. Homogeneity analyses were made for data reliability. Mann-Kendall trend test was utilized for trend analysis. Regressional analysis methods were engaged to determine rainfall-runoff relations and moving average method was performed with seasonal index to get more accurate time-dependent equations for predictions of hydro-meteorologic variables for future scenarios. Directional statistics and relative frequencies methods were used to examine flood seasons and to determine similar regions in terms of flooding days in the basin. Rate of change indices of hydro-meteorological variables were determined. Thiessen polygons and isohyets method were used to determine runoff coefficients. Besides, precipitation elasticities were determined by using elasticity equation to determine the sensitivity of streamflow to climate changes. In order to make a comparison in the Murat River basin, first the basin was compared as lower basin and upper basin. Secondly, in order to see the effect of climate change, the observation periods were divided into two parts and a comparison was made between these two observation periods. Results are shown in maps and in tables.