In nature, the spectrum of preferred scales tends to have concentrations around discrete states which seem to be rather far apart. In physics we have the quanta, subatomic particles, atoms, molecules… in biology we see a similar pattern with distinct nodes at the following levels: molecule, cell, organism, species, ecosystem. Although these levels are only few in number, it took thousands of years to identify them, to recognize them as possessing distinct qualities. But once such a node on the spectrum of scale has been discovered, the rewards have been great because it provided a firm basis for conceptualization and led to a rapid development of science through workable theories and models.

- Vit Klemes, 1983

 

A good amount of hydrologic research has become of interest to many disciplines, which up to now had very little to share with hydrology.

- Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe and Andrea Rinaldo , 1997

 

 

 

 

Has it ever occurred to you that river basins around the world are strikingly similar to one another? In a brief observation our earth's surface may look infinitely complex, but a closer and thoughtful look can reveal many interesting patterns characterizing river basins situated in different climatic and geologic regions. Over the past few years I have been looking at how the structural similarities of river basins are encoded in streamflows. I believe channel networks best represent natural basins, in the way they organize themselves as well as in the way they drain water.

 

Journal Articles

Biswal, B., and M. Marani (2010), Geomorphological origin of recession curves, Geophysical Research Letteer, 37, L24403, doi:10.1029/2010GL045415

 

Biswal, B., and D. N. Kumar (2013), A general geomorphological recession flow model for river basins, Water Resources Research, 49, 4900–4906, doi:10.1002/wrcr.20379

 

Biswal, B. and Nagesh Kumar, D. (2014), Study of dynamic behaviour of recession curves. Hydrolological Processes, 28: 784–792. doi: 10.1002/hyp.9604

 

Biswal, B., and M.  Marani (2014), 'Universal' recession curves and their geomorphic interpretation, Advances in Water Resources, doi: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2014.01.001

 

Biswal, B., and D.  Nagesh Kumar (2014), What mainly controls recession flows in river basins?, Advances in Water Resources, doi: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2014.01.004

 

Manuscripts in Review/Preparation

Biswal, B., and D.  Nagesh Kumar (2014), Estimation of 'drainable' storage -- a geomorphological approach, manuscript in review at Advances in Water Resources 

 

Patnaik, S., Biswal, B., and D.  Nagesh Kumar, Understanding subsurface flow mechanisms by studying recession flow curves, manuscript to be submitted to Advances in Water Resources

 

Biswal, B., An analysis of discharge-area relationships, manuscript in preparation 

 

Biswal, B., Channel networks in hydrologic response modeling I: theoretical framework, manuscript in preparation

 

Biswal, B., Channel networks in hydrologic response modeling II: practical applications, manuscript in preparation

 

Selected Recent Presentations

Patnaik, S., Biswal, B., and D.  Nagesh Kumar, Understanding subsurface flow mechanisms by studying recession flow curves, AGU Fall Meeting, San Fransisco, US, December 2013

 

Biswal, B., and D.  Nagesh Kumar, How much water does a basin hold?, AGU Fall Meeting, San Fransisco, US, December 2013

 

Biswal B., The geomorphological origin of recession curves, National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, August 2013 

Death Valley, CA, Dec 2010