Evaluation of Global Water Resources Reanalysis Runoff Products for Local Water Resources Applications: Case Study-Upper Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia

Precipitation over the Upper Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia contributes with 85% of the Nile river which provides 93% of Egypt’s conventional water resources. This study aims at assessing the meteorological drought in different locations in the Upper Blue Nile Basin and their relationship with the hydrological drought of Nile river in Egypt. The metrological drought was calculated by the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) at five stations inside and close to the Upper Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia, whereas the hydrological drought was calculated by the Streamflow Drought Index (SDI) at Dongola station at Nasser lake entrance. Both indices were calculated using the Drought Indices Calculator (DrinC) software. The selected study period was from 1973 to 2017 based on the availability of recorded data for meteorological stations in Ethiopia, and the streamflow for Dongola station. The data was categorized for each station by considering time periods of 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months based on their homogeneity. The correlation between SPI and SDI was evaluated using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The results showed a correlation between SPI for the five stations in the Upper Blue Nile Basin and SDI for Dongola station, where Gore station represented the highest frequency of significance at different time scales especially at the 3-months’ scale. The results confirm the relationship between SPI at Gore Station and SDI at Dongola Station, which means that the hydrological drought in Egypt is highly affected by the meteorological drought in the area surrounding Gore station. The paper recommends improving techniques for monitoring and overseeing drought hazards and assessing more meteorological stations to accurately predict climate change variations in Upper Blue Nile Basin and its effect on Egypt’s water resources.

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Analyzing the hydrologic effects of region-wide land and water development interventions: a case study of the Upper Blue Nile basin

Regional Environmental Change ◽

10.1007/s10113-015-0813-2 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 951-966 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Nigussie Haregeweyn ◽

Atsushi Tsunekawa ◽

Mitsuru Tsubo ◽

Derege Meshesha ◽

Enew Adgo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nile Basin ◽

Blue Nile ◽

Water Development ◽

Development Interventions ◽

Blue Nile Basin ◽

Upper Blue Nile Basin

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Advances in water resources research in the Upper Blue Nile basin and the way forward: A review

Journal of Hydrology ◽

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.03.042 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 560 ◽

pp. 407-423 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Yihun Taddele Dile ◽

Sirak Tekleab ◽

Essayas K. Ayana ◽

Solomon G. Gebrehiwot ◽

Abeyou W. Worqlul ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Nile Basin ◽

Blue Nile ◽

Blue Nile Basin ◽

The Way ◽

Upper Blue Nile Basin

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Effects of climate change on water resources in the upper Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia

Heliyon ◽

10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00771 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (9) ◽

pp. e00771 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Vincent Roth ◽

Tatenda Lemann ◽

Gete Zeleke ◽

Alemtsehay Teklay Subhatu ◽

Tibebu Kassawmar Nigussie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Resources ◽

Nile Basin ◽

Blue Nile ◽

Blue Nile Basin ◽

Upper Blue Nile Basin

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Analyzing runoff processes through conceptual hydrological modeling in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-18-5149-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 5149-5167 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

M. Dessie ◽

N. E. C. Verhoest ◽

V. R. N. Pauwels ◽

T. Admasu ◽

J. Poesen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Rainfall Runoff ◽

Nile Basin ◽

Blue Nile ◽

Direct Runoff ◽

Blue Nile Basin ◽

Hard Soil ◽

Production Areas ◽

Runoff Production ◽

Upper Blue Nile Basin

Abstract. Understanding runoff processes in a basin is of paramount importance for the effective planning and management of water resources, in particular in data-scarce regions such as the Upper Blue Nile. Hydrological models representing the underlying hydrological processes can predict river discharges from ungauged catchments and allow for an understanding of the rainfall–runoff processes in those catchments. In this paper, such a conceptual process-based hydrological model is developed and applied to the upper Gumara and Gilgel Abay catchments (both located within the Upper Blue Nile Basin, the Lake Tana sub-basin) to study the runoff mechanisms and rainfall–runoff processes in the basin. Topography is considered as a proxy for the variability of most of the catchment characteristics. We divided the catchments into different runoff production areas using topographic criteria. Impermeable surfaces (rock outcrops and hard soil pans, common in the Upper Blue Nile Basin) were considered separately in the conceptual model. Based on model results, it can be inferred that about 65% of the runoff appears in the form of interflow in the Gumara study catchment, and baseflow constitutes the larger proportion of runoff (44–48%) in the Gilgel Abay catchment. Direct runoff represents a smaller fraction of the runoff in both catchments (18–19% for the Gumara, and 20% for the Gilgel Abay) and most of this direct runoff is generated through infiltration excess runoff mechanism from the impermeable rocks or hard soil pans. The study reveals that the hillslopes are recharge areas (sources of interflow and deep percolation) and direct runoff as saturated excess flow prevails from the flat slope areas. Overall, the model study suggests that identifying the catchments into different runoff production areas based on topography and including the impermeable rocky areas separately in the modeling process mimics the rainfall–runoff process in the Upper Blue Nile Basin well and yields a useful result for operational management of water resources in this data-scarce region.

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