CLUES TO THE EXISTENCE OF DETERMINISTIC CHAOS IN RIVER FLOW

The present work investigates the existence of a component of determin istic chaos in the discharge time series of a river. The first part of the work is concerned with the reconstruction of the attractor and th e calculation of the correlation integral; in the second part the anal ysis is conducted with the aid of nonlinear prediction. Some clues eme rge as to the possible presence of chaos, probably immersed in a pheno menon altogether more extensive and manifold. If confirmed, this prese nce could provide interesting openings for a better comprehension of t he formation mechanism of river flow, and a more precise forecasting o f floods.