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Temporal Regionalization of 7-Day Low Flows in the St. Lawrence Watershed in Quebec (Canada)

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Abstract

Winter and summer 7-day low flows of eighteen natural rivers in the St. Lawrence River watershed of Quebec were analyzed over the period from 1934 to 2000. The rivers were first subdivided into three modes using principal component analysis. Two of these modes are located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, respectively south (Southeast mode) and north (East mode) of the 47°N, and the third (Southwest mode) is located on the north shore. The Southeast mode shows a significant increase in 7-day low flows in winter and summer due to increasing summer and fall precipitation, whereas the Southwest mode shows a significant decrease in summer 7-day low flows due to an increase in evapotranspiration. No significant change in winter and summer 7-day low flows is observed in the East mode. Results show that the variability of 7-day low flows and their link with climate indices are mainly seasonally dependent. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is the only index which is correlated to 7-day low flows in all three modes. This correlation is positive for north shore rivers and negative for south shore rivers. Furthermore, only north shore rivers are correlated to NAO in both winter and summer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’hydro-climatologie et de géomorphologie fluviale (Hydroclimatology and River Geomorphology Laboratory), Geography Section, Pavillon Léon-Provencher, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada

    Ali Arkamose Assani, Guillaume Légaré & Denis Leroux

  2. Département de Mathématiques et d’Informatique (Department of Mathematics and Computer Science), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada

    Alain Chalifour

  3. École de Génie, Département de Génie électrique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada

    Caza-Szoka Manouane

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  1. Ali Arkamose Assani
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Correspondence to Ali Arkamose Assani.

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Assani, A.A., Chalifour, A., Légaré, G. et al. Temporal Regionalization of 7-Day Low Flows in the St. Lawrence Watershed in Quebec (Canada). Water Resour Manage 25, 3559–3574 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-011-9870-6

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