Institute for Geoecology Measurement and Modelling of Water and Sediment Fluxes in Meso-Scale Dryland Catchments Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Potsdam, Germany for the degree of Doctor of Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. nat.) in Geoecology Till Konrad Otto Francke Potsdam, March 2009 Published online at the Institutional Repository of the University of Potsdam: http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2009/3152/ urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-31525 [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-31525] He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside. Job 5, 9-10 Contents Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ III Zusammenfassung.................................................................................................................V Chapter I: Introduction, objectives and overview .............................................................. 1 1. Introduction and background ......................................................................................... 2 2. Objectives...............................................................................................................