Application of the SCS–CN Method to the Hancheon Basin on the Volcanic Jeju Island, Korea

Abstract

This study investigates three issues regarding the application of the SCS–CN (Soil Conservation Service–Curve Number) method to a basin on the volcanic Jeju Island, Korea. The first issue is the possible relation between the initial abstraction and the maximum potential retention. The second is the determination of the maximum potential retention, which is also closely related to the estimation of CN. The third issue is the effect of the antecedent soil moisture condition (AMC) on the initial abstraction, maximum potential retention and CN. All of these issues are dealt with based on the analysis of several rainfall events observed in the Hancheon basin, a typical basin on Jeju Island. In summary, the results are that, firstly, estimates of initial abstraction, ratio λ, maximum potential retention, and CN were all found to be consistent with the SCS–CN model structure. That is, CN and the maximum potential retention showed a strong negative correlation, and the ratio λ and the maximum potential retention also showed a rather weak negative correlation. On the other hand, a significant positive correlation was found between CN and the ratio λ. Second, in the case where the accumulated number of days is four or five, the effect of antecedent precipitation amount is clear. The antecedent five-day rainfall amount for the AMC-III condition is higher than 400 mm, compared to the AMC-I condition of less than 100 mm. Third, an inverse proportional relationship is found between the AMC and the maximum potential retention. On the other hand, a clear linear proportional relation is found between the AMC and CN. Finally, the maximum potential retention for the Hancheon basin is around 200 mm, with the corresponding CN being around 65. The ratio between the initial abstraction and the maximum potential retention is around 0.3. Even though these results are derived by analyzing a limited number of rainfall events, they are believed to properly consider the soil characteristics of Jeju Island.