Аннотация:The runoff hydrograph, i.e., the time series of river runoff, is the result of numerous interacting processes within the catchment. Precipitation, runoff generation at the land surface, infiltration into the subsurface, the uptake from vegetation and consequent transpiration, and evaporation from the soil determine how much water will reach the river (i.e., the volume of the hydrograph). Water movement through various flow paths on the land surface (including the river network), in the unsaturated zone and in the groundwater (Chapter 4) determines the dynamics of the runoff (i.e., the hydrograph shape). The hydrograph is the aggregated result of many such processes. It is the most complete runoff signature, but at the same time the most complex to understand. Indeed, all other signatures discussed in the book are technically extracted from the runoff hydrograph by averaging, estimating probabilities or taking extremes of the runoff time series. The mean annual runoff (Chapter 5) gives the hydrograph volume and is controlled by the competition between water and energy. Seasonality (Chapter 6) provides the principal periodic fluctuation of the hydrograph within the year, which can be related to climate seasonality and catchment storages. The flow duration curve (Chapter 7) aggregates all runoff fluctuations in one single signature, which is the probability distribution of runoff. Low flows and floods (Chapters 8 and 9) are the extremes of the hydrograph. All the signatures allow us to extract information on different aspects of the catchment runoff dynamics that would be difficult to see by looking at the hydrograph alone. However, while the signatures capture the full range of runoff temporal variability, they miss one critical piece of information in the runoff hydrograph: the sequence of runoff in time. The example given in Figure 10.1 illustrates this point for a seven-month period in Austria and Bavaria.