Using MODIS snow cover and precipitation data to model water runoff for the Mokelumne River Basin in the Sierra Nevada, California (2000–2009)

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Powell ◽  
Leonhard Blesius ◽  
Jerry Davis ◽  
Falk Schuetzenmeister
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Precipitation Data ◽  
Mokelumne River ◽  
Model Water

scholarly journals Error Correction of Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) over the Lancang-Mekong River Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Xiongpeng Tang ◽  
Jianyun Zhang ◽  
Guoqing Wang ◽  
Gebdang Biangbalbe Ruben ◽  
Zhenxin Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Error Correction ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Mekong River ◽  
Precipitation Data ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Hydrological Simulation ◽  
Mekong River Basin ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Simulation Results

The demand for accurate long-term precipitation data is increasing, especially in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin (LMRB), where ground-based data are mostly unavailable and inaccessible in a timely manner. Remote sensing and reanalysis quantitative precipitation products provide unprecedented observations to support water-related research, but these products are inevitably subject to errors. In this study, we propose a novel error correction framework that combines products from various institutions. The NASA Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (AgMERRA), the Asian Precipitation Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE), the Climate Hazards group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS), the Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation Version 1.0 (MSWEP), and the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Records (PERSIANN) were used. Ground-based precipitation data from 1998 to 2007 were used to select precipitation products for correction, and the remaining 1979–1997 and 2008–2014 observe data were used for validation. The resulting precipitation products MSWEP-QM derived from quantile mapping (QM) and MSWEP-LS derived from linear scaling (LS) are evaluated by statistical indicators and hydrological simulation across the LMRB. Results show that the MSWEP-QM and MSWEP-LS can better capture major annual precipitation centers, have excellent simulation results, and reduce the mean BIAS and mean absolute BIAS at most gauges across the LMRB. The two corrected products presented in this study constitute improved climatological precipitation data sources, both time and space, outperforming the five raw gridded precipitation products. Among the two corrected products, in terms of mean BIAS, MSWEP-LS was slightly better than MSWEP-QM at grid-scale, point scale, and regional scale, and it also had better simulation results at all stations except Strung Treng. During the validation period, the average absolute value BIAS of MSWEP-LS and MSWEP-QM decreased by 3.51% and 3.4%, respectively. Therefore, we recommend that MSWEP-LS be used for water-related scientific research in the LMRB.

scholarly journals Cloud obstruction and snow cover in Alpine areas from MODIS products

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 4579-4600 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Da Ronco ◽  
C. De Michele
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Snow Water Equivalent ◽  
Practical Interest ◽  
Computational Effort ◽  
Po River ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Po River Basin

Abstract. Snow cover maps provide information of great practical interest for hydrologic purposes: when combined with point values of snow water equivalent (SWE), they enable estimation of the regional snow resource. In this context, Earth observation satellites are an interesting tool for evaluating large scale snow distribution and extension. MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on board Terra and Aqua satellites) daily Snow Covered Area product has been widely tested and proved to be appropriate for hydrologic applications. However, within a daily map the presence of cloud cover can hide the ground, thus obstructing snow detection. Here, we consider MODIS binary products for daily snow mapping over the Po River basin. Ten years (2003–2012) of MOD10A1 and MYD10A1 snow maps have been analysed and processed with the support of a 500 m resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM). We first investigate the issue of cloud obstruction, highlighting its dependence on altitude and season. Snow maps seem to suffer the influence of overcast conditions mainly in mountain and during the melting period. Thus, cloud cover highly influences those areas where snow detection is regarded with more interest. In spring, the average percentages of area lying beneath clouds are in the order of 70%, for altitudes over 1000 m a.s.l. Then, starting from previous studies, we propose a cloud removal procedure and we apply it to a wide area, characterized by high geomorphological heterogeneity such as the Po River basin. In conceiving the new procedure, our first target was to preserve the daily temporal resolution of the product. Regional snow and land lines were estimated for detecting snow cover dependence on elevation. In cases when there was not enough information on the same day within the cloud-free areas, we used temporal filters with the aim of reproducing the micro-cycles which characterize the transition altitudes, where snow does not stand continually over the entire winter. In the validation stage, the proposed procedure was compared against others, showing improvements in the performance for our case study. The accuracy is assessed by applying the procedure to clear-sky maps masked with additional cloud cover. The average value is higher than 95% considering 40 days chosen over all seasons. The procedure also has advantages in terms of input data and computational effort requirements.

scholarly journals Variation of snow cover in the Nyang River basin of southeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Zongxue Xu ◽  
Depeng Zuo ◽  
Chunguang Ban
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Snow Water Equivalent ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Snow Cover Area ◽  
Northern Edge ◽  
Slight Upward Trend

Abstract Snow cover is highly sensitive to global climate change and strongly influences the climate at global and regional scales. Because of limited in situ observations, snow cover dynamics in the Nyang River basin (NRB) have been examined in few studies. Five snow cover indices derived from observation and remote sensing data from 2000 to 2018 were used to investigate the spatial and temporal variation of snow cover in the NRB. There was clear seasonality in the snow cover throughout the entire basin. The maximum snow-covered area was 8,751.35 km2, about 50% of the total basin area, and occurred in March. The maximum snow depth (SD) was 5.35 cm and was found at the northern edge of the middle reaches of the basin. Snow cover frequency, SD, and fraction of snow cover area increased with elevation. The decrease in SD was the most marked in the elevation range of 5,000–6,000 m. Above 6,000 m, the snow water equivalent showed a slight upward trend. There was a significant negative correlation between snow cover and temperature. The results of this study could improve our understanding of changes in snow cover in the NRB from multivariate perspectives. It is better for water resources management.

scholarly journals Basin-Scale Approach to Integration of Agro- and Hydroecological Monitoring for Sustainable Environmental Management: A Case Study of Belgorod Oblast, European Russia

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 927
Author(s):  
Zhanna Buryak ◽  
Fedor Lisetskii ◽  
Artyom Gusarov ◽  
Anastasiya Narozhnyaya ◽  
Mikhail Kitov
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Basins ◽  
European Russia ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Belgorod Oblast ◽  
Water Quality Control ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Seventh Order

The quantitative and qualitative depletion of water resources (both surface and groundwater) is closely related to the need to protect soils against degradation, rationalization of land use, and regulation of surface water runoff within the watershed area. Belgorod Oblast (27,100 km2), one of the administrative regions of European Russia, was chosen as the study area. It is characterized by a high activity of soil erosion (the share of eroded soils is about 48% of the total area of arable land). The development phase of the River Basin Environmental Management Projects (217 river basins from the fourth to seventh order) allowed for the proceeding of the development of an integrated monitoring system for river systems and river basin systems. The methods used to establish a geoecological network for regional monitoring include the selection and application of GIS techniques to quantify the main indicators of ecological state and predisposition of river basins to soil erosion (the share of cropland and forestland, the share of the south-oriented slopes, soil erodibility, Slope Length and Steepness (LS) factor, erosion index of precipitation, and the river network density) and the method of a hierarchical classification of cluster analysis for the grouping of river basins. An approach considering the typology of river basins is also used to expand the regional network of hydrological gauging stations to rationalize the national hydrological monitoring network. By establishing 16 additional gauging stations on rivers from the fourth to seventh order, this approach allows for an increase in the area of hydro-agroecological monitoring by 1.26 times (i.e., up to 77.5% of the total area of Belgorod Oblast). Some integrated indicators of agroecological (on the watershed surface) and hydroecological (in river water flow) monitoring are proposed to improve basin environmental management projects. Six-year monitoring showed the effectiveness of water quality control measures on an example of a decrease in the concentrations of five major pollutants in river waters.

scholarly journals Impact of change in erosion rate and landscape steepness on hillslope and fluvial sediments grain size in the Feather River Basin (Sierra Nevada, California)

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1047-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Attal ◽  
S. M. Mudd ◽  
M. D. Hurst ◽  
B. Weinman ◽  
K. Yoo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Fluvial Sediments ◽  
Sediment Grain Size ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Feather River ◽  
Order Of Magnitude

Abstract. The characteristics of the sediment transported by rivers (e.g., sediment flux, grain size distribution – GSD –) dictate whether rivers aggrade or erode their substrate. They also condition the architecture and properties of sedimentary successions in basins. In this study, we investigate the relationship between landscape steepness and the grain size of hillslope and fluvial sediments. The study area is located within the Feather River Basin in Northern California, and studied basins are underlain exclusively by tonalite lithology. Erosion rates in the study area vary over an order of magnitude, from > 250 mm ka−1 in the Feather River canyon to < 15 mm ka−1 on an adjacent low relief plateau. We find that the coarseness of hillslope sediment increases with increasing hillslope steepness and erosion rates. We hypothesize that, in our soil samples, the measured ten-fold increase in D50 and doubling of the amount of fragments larger than 1 mm when slope increases from 0.38 to 0.83 m m−1 is due to a decrease in the residence time of rock fragments, causing particles to be exposed for shorter periods of time to processes that can reduce grain size. For slopes in excess of 0.7 m m−1, landslides and scree cones supply much coarser sediment to rivers, with D50 and D84 more than one order of magnitude larger than in soils. In the tributary basins of the Feather River, a prominent break in slope developed in response to the rapid incision of the Feather River. Downstream of the break in slope, fluvial sediment grain size increases, due to an increase in flow competence (mostly driven by channel steepening) but also by a change in sediment source and in sediment dynamics: on the plateau upstream of the break in slope, rivers transport easily mobilised fine-grained sediment derived exclusively from soils. Downstream of the break in slope, mass wasting processes supply a wide range of grain sizes that rivers entrain selectively, depending on the competence of their flow. Our results also suggest that in this study site, hillslopes respond rapidly to an increase in the rate of base-level lowering compared to rivers.

scholarly journals Modeling Snow Depth and Snow Water Equivalent Distribution and Variation Characteristics in the Irtysh River Basin, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 8365
Author(s):  
Liming Gao ◽  
Lele Zhang ◽  
Yongping Shen ◽  
Yaonan Zhang ◽  
Minghao Ai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Snow Water Equivalent ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Implicit Scheme ◽  
Snow Water ◽  
Irtysh River ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
The Irtysh River

Accurate simulation of snow cover process is of great significance to the study of climate change and the water cycle. In our study, the China Meteorological Forcing Dataset (CMFD) and ERA-Interim were used as driving data to simulate the dynamic changes in snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) in the Irtysh River Basin from 2000 to 2018 using the Noah-MP land surface model, and the simulation results were compared with the gridded dataset of snow depth at Chinese meteorological stations (GDSD), the long-term series of daily snow depth dataset in China (LSD), and China’s daily snow depth and snow water equivalent products (CSS). Before the simulation, we compared the combinations of four parameterizations schemes of Noah-MP model at the Kuwei site. The results show that the rainfall and snowfall (SNF) scheme mainly affects the snow accumulation process, while the surface layer drag coefficient (SFC), snow/soil temperature time (STC), and snow surface albedo (ALB) schemes mainly affect the melting process. The effect of STC on the simulation results was much higher than the other three schemes; when STC uses a fully implicit scheme, the error of simulated snow depth and snow water equivalent is much greater than that of a semi-implicit scheme. At the basin scale, the accuracy of snow depth modeled by using CMFD and ERA-Interim is higher than LSD and CSS snow depth based on microwave remote sensing. In years with high snow cover, LSD and CSS snow depth data are seriously underestimated. According to the results of model simulation, it is concluded that the snow depth and snow water equivalent in the north of the basin are higher than those in the south. The average snow depth, snow water equivalent, snow days, and the start time of snow accumulation (STSA) in the basin did not change significantly during the study period, but the end time of snow melting was significantly advanced.

LUKIANETS O.I., GREBІN V.V. TIME DYNAMICS OF WATER BALANCE COMPONENTS IN THE PSEL RIVER BASIN

2021 ◽  
pp. 28-36
Author(s):  
O.I. Lukіanets ◽  
V.V Grebіn
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Water Balance Components ◽  
Total Evaporation ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Town

In the article, in order to identify the generalized role of changes that occurred in the Psel River basin with such climatic indicators as air temperature, amount of precipitation, their form of precipitation, the structure of water bodies feeding, as well as water flow in the modern period, the average water balance for a long-term period was calculated the Psel river basin near the town of Gadyach. In general, the water balance equation shows the ratio of water input and consumption within a river basin, taking into account changes in its reserves over a selected time interval and allows one to assess the relationship of its individual components. In the article identifies changes in the ratio between the inflow (amount of precipitation) and consumption of water (total evaporation and runoff) for two periods – the climatic norm of 1961-1990 and modern 1990-2019. Analysis of the temporal dynamics of the water balance components of the Psel river basin showed that the values of the water balance components within the Psel river basin near the town of Gadyach in the modern period have decreased in comparison with the period of the climatic norm – the amount of precipitation by 6,2%, water flow by 17,5%, evapotranspiration by 1,8%. But, analyzing the relationship between the inflow and outflow of water in the basin for the two study periods 1961-1990 and 1990-2019, it can be stated that during the period of the climatic norm, the percentage of water flow from the total precipitation was greater (coefficient water flow 16.2%) than in the modern period (coefficient water flow 14.2%). With regard to total evaporation in water-balance ratios, its share in the water-balance ratio has increased over the modern period (1990-2019). If during the period of climatic normal (1961-1990) the aridity coefficient was 83.8%, then in the modern period, it is 85.8%. That is, the “redistribution” of the water volumes of atmospheric precipitation took place towards the total evaporation with a decrease in the volume of water used to form the water runoff. For the basin of the river Psel – the city of Gadyach in the modern period on the average ≈ 11 mm (or ≈ 130000000 m3) evaporate instead of replenishment of water resources. In the previous period of 1961-1990, on the contrary, ≈ 12 mm (or 136000000 m3) did not evaporate, but flowed into the water bodies of the basin.

Reconsidering the sediment connectivity and sediment transfer under the influence of hydraulic structures and coal mining in the Jiu river basin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Adina Morosanu ◽  
Marta Cristina Jurchescu
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Hydraulic Structures ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Sediment Transfer ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;The key to an efficient basin management, taking into account both the liquid (river water runoff and its quality) and the solid (sediment sources and delivery) components lies in the way we approach the complex problem of sediment-generating areas in a river basin. This complexity is manifested both through the primary geomorphological processes that contribute to the mobilization of significant amounts of alluvia from the slopes and along the river valleys, and the various environmental and anthropogenic factors that act as restrictors or catalysts of sediment transfer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the present study, we aim to analyze the various categories of anthropogenic factors, operating at different spatial scales (local or at subcatchment/river sector level), which contribute, together with the intrinsic geomorphological potential, to the sediment supply or, conversely, to the inhibition of erosion, transport and accumulation processes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tracking sediment mobilization, transfer, intermediate storage and final delivery in a lithologically and geomorphologically complex environment, such as the Jiu River Basin (10,070 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;), located in SW Romania, is a difficult task which can become even more challenging when we factor in the contribution of some additional elements of an anthropic nature. In our study area, represented by a Carpathian and Danubian river basin, some of the most significant issues impacting the research include, on the one hand, the existence of reservoirs and dams, the strengthening of anti-flood embankments or the presence of water diversions, to cite only hydrotechnical interventions, or the impact of coal mining on landforms, slope processes and sediment sources, on the other hand. &amp;#160;All these factors can act locally or regionally and they can surpass the influence exerted by the natural factors, thus being responsible for the reduction, storage, or, on the contrary, for the acceleration of specific hydro-sedimentary fluxes on certain paths.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In order to connect these two categories of potential factors regulating sediment generation and transfer, the methodological approach consists in evaluating the internal &amp;#8211; geomorphic upstream-downstream connectivity in relation/contrast with the disruptive anthropogenic factors. The proposed workflow can be divided in two steps: 1) the identification of the upstream sediment generating areas which are most connected to the downstream delivery/ storage/ accumulation areas (river network and river mouth) by applying the connectivity index (IC) proposed by Cavalli et al. (2013); and 2) the evaluation of potential hotspot areas exhibiting the highest degree of connectivity, as seen through the lens of the additional coupling or decoupling effects induced by the anthropic activities specific to the Jiu river basin: hydraulic structures and coal mining.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Outcome discussions will focus on mapping problematic sediment production, storage and transfer sectors, as evidenced by the impact of hydrotechnical works and artificial landforms from coal mining on the connectivity potential of the Jiu river basin.&lt;/p&gt;

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