Climate change is a hot issue on the current time and snow melting process in alpine areas has be affected on the background of climate change, so it is necessary to study snow melting process especially the snowmelt model. In view of the shortcomings of the degree-day model (DDM), the double layer snow-melt model (DSMM) is improved and developed based on the original theory. Then the simulation of the snowmelt process of the upper reaches of Lancang-Mekong River is performed by the improved double layer snow-melt model (IDSMM) and DDM respectively, the simulation results are analyzed in view of model theory, snowmelt critical control conditions, the effects of the simulation and working conditions in the changing environment. The results show that IDSMM based on the energy and mass balance is superior to DDM in the snowmelt physics mechanism, and it not only can simulate the snow melting process, but also can simulate many physical processes, such as the canopy interception of snowfall, vaporization and sublimation loss in evaporation, the second precipitation from canopy surface, the process of snowmelt water freezing again and so on. The simulation results of snowmelt process is more tally with the actual situation and it can provide a reference to the research of snow and ice hydrology and the whole water cycle in a changing environment.
The AMMA-CATCH experiment in the cultivated Sahelian area of south-west Niger – Investigating water cycle response to a fluctuating climate and changing environment
