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| Titel |
Hydrological behavior of the confined Aba’ala graben along the western margin of the Danakil depression, Northern Ethiopia |
| VerfasserIn |
Hailemariam Meaza, Amaury Frankl, Jean Poesen, Amanuel Zenebe, Veerle Van Eetvelde, Biadgilgn Demissie, Tesfaalem Ghebreyohannes Asfaha, Jan Nyssen |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2017
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 19 (2017) |
| Datensatznummer |
250139040
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2017-2202.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Abstract
Marginal grabens are considered as major development corridors in Ethiopia. Despite the
increasing pressure on water resources, the hydrological behavior of marginal grabens is
poorly documented to develop management options. Here we investigate the hydrological
behavior of Aba’ala marginal graben (553 km2) along the western margin of the Danakil
depression. We implemented rain gauges, pressure transducers, and staff gauges at
representative rivers to collect the required data. Transect studies across the escarpments were
undertaken to understand the runoff mechanisms. We developed rating curves and
hydrographs for each gauging station to analyze the discharges. The study shows that
seasonal rainfall is erratic that led to 27.6x106m3 of runoff in 2016. About 88% of the river
discharges took place in the form of flash floods between July and August. Furthermore,
travertine dams situated in the upper catchment of Murga and Aba’ala Rivers indicate the
position of springs that recharge the productive graben bottom. However, about 25.2x106m3
volume of water is lost through the single outlet from the marginal graben bottom.
Moreover, high evapotranspiration rates make the available moisture insufficient for crop
production in the graben bottom. Therefore, partitioning of flash and regular floods
could improve onsite water productivity in the confined Aba’ala marginal graben. |
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