Probability distribution type of Canadian annual minimum streamflow / Type de distribution de probabilité du débit minimum annuel au Canada

Abstract

Abstract The method of L-moment ratio diagrams along with the averaged weighted distance (AWD) is applied to identify a probability distribution of annual minimum streamflow, namely annual minimum daily streamflow in 11 climatic regions of Canada. Across the entire country, the Pearson type III probability distribution is an acceptable distribution for describing annual minimum streamflow with the 3-parameter lognormal and log Pearson type III distributions as potential candidates. Some minor differences in the probability distribution type among different climatic regions are also observed, which may be taken into account in the selection of the distribution type of annual minimum streamflow.