A Simple Monthly Runoff Model for Snow Dominated Catchments in Western Himalayas

The rivers originating from middle and greater Himalayas have a significant part of their catchments under permanent snow cover and glaciers. Modeling runoff becomes difficult with almost no data from these parts. Even in the seasonal snow covered zones, the network is generally inadequate. However precipitation characteristics show repetitiveness and snowline movement elevation wise by and large occurs the same pattern each year. The snowline movement is distinct on a monthly basis and the location of permanent snowline is also more or less constant at about 4,500 m. A simple monthly snowmelt runoff model with relatively few parameters is proposed to take advantage of above mentioned characteristics, using the degree day method. The model uses monthly rain, snow (snow water equivalent), mean air temperature and snowline elevation as primary inputs. Model conceptualisation has been made in view of the data constraints. All parameters are estimated through few trial simulations, except the storage coefficient, which is optimised using Rosenbrock technique. The model was applied on two sub-catchments of Chenab basin (of Indus river system) to evaluate the model capability. The results are encouraging. There is further scope for model improvement, generalisation and for application to other catchments in the Western Himalayas.

Download Full-text

Interannual Variability of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) over Western Himalayas

Pure and Applied Geophysics ◽

10.1007/s00024-015-1163-1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 173 (4) ◽

pp. 1317-1335 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Sarita Tiwari ◽

Sarat C. Kar ◽

R. Bhatla

Keyword(s):

Interannual Variability ◽

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Western Himalayas ◽

Snow Water

Download Full-text

The Response of Areal Snow Cover to Climate Change in a Snowmelt—Runoff Model

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0260305500014099 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 232-236 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

A. Rango

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Snow Cover ◽

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Major Influence ◽

Snowmelt Runoff ◽

Snow Cover Extent ◽

Physically Based ◽

Depletion Rate ◽

Snow Water ◽

Runoff Model

The cryosphere is represented in some hydrological models by the arcal extent of snow cover, a variable that has been operationally available in recent years through remote sensing. In particular, the snowmelt runoff model (SRM) requires the remotely sensed snow-cover extent as a major input variable. The SRM is well-suited for simulating the hydrological response of a basin to hypothetical climate change because it is a non-calibrated model. In order to run the SRM in a climate-change mode, the response of the areal snow cover to a change in climate is critical, and must be calculated as a function of elevation, precipitation, temperature, and snow-water equivalent. For the snowmelt-runoff season, the effect of climate change on conditions in the winter months has a major influence. In a warmer climate, winter may experience more rain vs snow events, and more periods of winter snowmelt that reduce the snow water equivalent present in the basin at the beginning of spring snow melt. As a result, the spring snowmelt runoff under conditions of climate warming will be affected not only by different temperatures and precipitation, but also by a different snow cover with a changed depletion rate. A new radiation-based version of the SRM is under development that will also take changes in cloudiness and humidity into account, making climate-change studies of the cryosphere even more physically based.

Download Full-text

Melted snow volume control in the snowmelt runoff model using a snow water equivalent statistically based model

Hydrological Processes ◽

10.1002/hyp.8376 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (22) ◽

pp. 3405-3415 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

D. Bavera ◽

C. De Michele ◽

M. Pepe ◽

A. Rampini

Keyword(s):

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Volume Control ◽

Snowmelt Runoff ◽

Melted Snow ◽

Snow Water ◽

Runoff Model

Download Full-text

regionalization of the potential to increase rainfall-runoff model performance by multi-objective calibration using modis data over Austria

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13804 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Martin Kubáň ◽

Patrik Sleziak ◽

Adam Brziak ◽

Kamila Hlavčová ◽

Ján Szolgay

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Hydrological Model ◽

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Model Performance ◽

State Variables ◽

Rainfall Runoff ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Snow Water ◽

Rainfall Runoff Model ◽

Runoff Model

A multi-objective calibration of the parameters of conceptual hydrologic models has the potential to improve the consistency of the simulated model states, their representativeness with respect to catchment states and thereby to reduce the uncertainty in the estimation of hydrological model outputs. Observed in-situ or remotely sensed state variables, such as the snow cover distribution, snow depth, snow water equivalent and soil moisture were often considered as additional information in such calibration strategies and subsequently utilized in data assimilation for operational streamflow forecasting. The objective of this paper is to assess the effects of the inclusion of MODIS products characterizing soil moisture and the snow water equivalent in a multi-objective calibration strategy of an HBV type conceptual hydrological model under the highly variable physiographic conditions over the whole territory of Austria.The methodology was tested using the Technical University of Vienna semi-distributed rainfall-runoff model (the TUW model), which was calibrated and validated in 213 Austrian catchments. For calibration we use measured data from the period 2005 to 2014. Subsequently, we simulated discharges, soil moisture and snow water equivalents based on parameters from the multi-objective calibration and compared these with the respective MODIS values. In general, the multi-objective calibration improved model performance when compared to results of model parametrisation calibrated only on discharge time series. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the magnitude of the model efficiency is regionally sensitive to the choice of the additional calibration variables. In the analysis of the results we indicate ranges how and where the runoff, soil moisture and snow water equivalent simulation efficiencies were sensitive to different setups of the multi-objective calibration strategy over the whole territory of Austria. It was attempted to regionalize the potential to increase of the overall model performance and the improvement in the consistency of the simulation of the two-state variables. Such regionalization may serve model users in the selection which remotely sensed variable or their combination is to be preferred in local modelling studies.

Download Full-text

Elevation-dependent behavior of hoar-prominent snowpack on forest slopes in the Japanese Central Alps based on a decade of observations

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/aog.2018.33 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 59 (77) ◽

pp. 77-86

Author(s):

Yusuke Harada ◽

Ryuzo Wakabayashi ◽

Yoshikage Inoue

Keyword(s):

Linear Correlation ◽

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Quadratic Function ◽

Central Alps ◽

Monthly Basis ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

Dependent Behavior ◽

Strong Linear Correlation ◽

Snow Water ◽

The Impact

ABSTRACTFull snow-pit observations were performed on a monthly basis over ten winter seasons from 1995 to 2004, at 15 study plots spaced at 100 m elevation intervals (1300–2700 m a.s.l.) in the mountainous forest of the Japanese Central Alps. We observed 514 pits with an average depth of 1.12 m. Density measurements were taken in 2610 snow layers in total. Monthly trends indicate that snow depth has a strong linear correlation with elevation and that the mean density of snow cover has a moderate linear correlation with elevation in midwinter. Snow water equivalent can increase as a quadratic function of elevation in January and February. For this reason, the influence of overburden load and wind packing is elevation-dependent from January to February, a period when a facet-prominent snowpack existed on account of low snow and air temperatures. The density of depth hoar is greater at higher elevations than it is for rounded grains in midwinter due to densification. On forested slopes, with increasing elevation, snowfall frequency and the impact of wind upon snow increases while air temperature decreases, causing elevational variance in grain shapes.

Download Full-text

The response of areal snow cover to climate change in a snowmelt–runoff model

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/s0260305500014099 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 232-236

Author(s):

A. Rango

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Snow Cover ◽

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Major Influence ◽

Snowmelt Runoff ◽

Snow Cover Extent ◽

Physically Based ◽

Snow Water ◽

Runoff Model ◽

Spring Snowmelt

The cryosphere is represented in some hydrological models by the areal extent of snow cover, a variable that has been operationally available in recent years through remote sensing. In particular, the snowmelt–runoff model (SRM) requires the remotely sensed snow-cover extent as a major input variable. The SRM is well-suited for simulating the hydrological response of a basin to hypothetical climate change because it is a non-calibrated model. In order to run the SRM in a climate-change mode, the response of the areal snow cover to a change in climate is critical, and must be calculated as a function of elevation, precipitation, temperature, and snow-water equivalent. For the snowmelt-runoff season, the effect of climate change on conditions in the winter months has a major influence. In a warmer climate, winter may experience more rain vs snow events, and more periods of winter snowmelt that reduce the snow water equivalent present in the basin at the beginning of spring snowmelt. As a result, the spring snowmelt runoff under conditions of climate warming will be affected not only by different temperatures and precipitation, but also by a different snow cover with a changed depletion rate. A new radiation-based version of the SRM is under development that will also take changes in cloudiness and humidity into account, making climate-change studies of the cryosphere even more physically based.

Download Full-text

Changes in the snow water equivalent in mountainous basins in Slovakia over recent decades

Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences ◽

10.5194/piahs-370-109-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 370 ◽

pp. 109-116

Author(s):

K. Hlavčová ◽

K. Kotríková ◽

S. Kohnová ◽

P. Valent

Keyword(s):

Snow Cover ◽

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Winter Season ◽

Snow Accumulation ◽

Rainfall Runoff ◽

Mountainous Regions ◽

Ipcc Report ◽

Snow Water ◽

Rainfall Runoff Model ◽

Runoff Model

Abstract. Changes in snowpack and duration of snow cover can cause changes in the regime of snow and rain-snow induced floods. The recent IPCC report suggests that, in snow-dominated regions such as the Alps, the Carpathian Mountains and the northern parts of Europe, spring snowmelt floods may occur earlier in a future climate because of warmer winters, and flood hazards may increase during wetter and warmer winters, with more frequent rain and less frequent snowfall. The monitoring and modelling of snow accumulation and snow melting in mountainous catchments is rather complicated, especially due to the high spatial variability of snow characteristics and the limited availability of terrestrial hydrological data. An evaluation of changes in the snow water equivalent (SWE) during the period of 1961–2010 in the Upper Hron river basin, which is representative of the mountainous regions in Central Slovakia, is provided in this paper. An analysis of the snow cover was performed using simulated values of the snow water equivalent by a conceptual semi-distributed hydrological rainfall-runoff model. Due to the poor availability of the measured snow water equivalent data, the analysis was performed using its simulated values. Modelling of the SWE was performed in different altitude zones by a conceptual semi-distributed hydrological rainfall-runoff model. The evaluation of the results over the past five decades indicates a decrease in the simulated snow water equivalent and the snow duration in each altitude zone and in all months of the winter season. Significant decreasing trends were found for December, January and February, especially in the highest altitude zone.

Download Full-text

Snow Cover Modelling as a Tool for Climate Change Assessment in a Swiss Alpine Catchment

Hydrology Research ◽

10.2166/nh.2000.0006 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 73-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

D. Gellens ◽

K. Barbieux ◽

B. Schädler ◽

E. Roulin ◽

H. Aschwanden ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Statistical Tests ◽

Point Of View ◽

Swiss Alps ◽

Minimum Requirements ◽

Snow Water ◽

Climate Change Assessment ◽

Basin Area ◽

Runoff Model

The daily step conceptual hydrological model IRMB (Integrated Runoff Model – Bultot) is further developed by the addition of a module designed to calculate the energy balance in high spatial resolution in a basin with very distinct relief and to simulate the surface related processes in a distributed way. The basin considered, the Landquart basin (area at the outlet Felsenbach: 616 km2, mean altitude 1,800 m a.s.l.), situated in the eastern part of the Swiss Alps, has been subdivided with GIS-methodology into 2,704 homogeneous units (altitude and aspect). Among all other water balance elements snow water equivalent is simulated for a period of 15 years. Climate scenarios for the 21st century from three climate change experiments are used in order to estimate the change in the distribution of the snow water equivalent in the basin. Finally, impacts on the potentiality of Alpine skiing activities in this region are discussed. It shows that the areas where profitability minimum requirements is reached from the point of view of snow amounts, are decreasing, because this limit would go up by about 250 m from 1,500 to 1,750 m a.s.l. for the 2020 scenario. Statistical tests indicate, however, that this change is still within the natural variability observed in the reference period 1981-1995.

Download Full-text

Differences in the parameters and calibration efficiencies of two HBV model types

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-5156 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adam Brziak ◽

Silvia Kohnová ◽

Martin Kubáň ◽

Jan Szolgay

Keyword(s):

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Type Model ◽

Model Structure ◽

Rainfall Runoff ◽

Parameter Uncertainties ◽

Snow Water ◽

Alpine Catchments ◽

Hbv Model ◽

Runoff Model

Accurate modeling of discharges in catchments plays important role in solving a&#160;large variety of water management tasks. Rainfall-runoff models are widely used for the estimation of the hydrological phenomena such as runoff, soil moisture, and snow water equivalent, etc. Three basic error factors may affect modeled outputs: quality of input data, parameter uncertainties, and model structure. This study is focused on a comparison of the performance of the lumped and semi-distributed version of the conceptual rainfall-runoff TUW model, which represents two different model structures. We focused on how the model structure can affect the parameters and the runoff model efficiencies. For that purpose, we select the 180 Austrian catchments with different morphological and geographical characteristics. We analysed the variability of efficiencies and parameters of both the HBV models types which are calibrated on discharge in the period from 1991 to 2000. As a result, we can conclude that the semi-distributed version of the HBV type model performs better, with the lower spread of the parameters and better runoff model efficiencies in both Lowland and Alpine catchments types.

Download Full-text

Modelling Snow Accumulation and Snowmelt in the Bystřice River Basin

Geografie ◽

10.37040/geografie2012117010110 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 117 (1) ◽

pp. 110-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lucie Kutláková ◽

Michal Jeníček

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

Snow Water Equivalent ◽

Snow Accumulation ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

Index Method ◽

Temperature Index ◽

Snow Water ◽

Rainfall Runoff Model ◽

Runoff Model ◽

Winter Flood

Effectively dealing with spring flooding issues should focus primarily on their causes. It is therefore important to study the processes of snow accumulation and snowmelt, especially in mountain areas. In this article, we use the lumped modelling approach of the rainfall-runoff model HEC-HMS, along with the temperature-index method for snow accumulation and snowmelt computation. Three winter periods were used for model calibration and testing: 2005/06, 2007/08 and 2008/09. Developments in the snow-water equivalent were simulated and the accuracy of simulated hydrographs was assessed, against actual observations, in the Ostrov outlet in the Bystřice River basin in the Krušné Hory Mountains. The published results present fundamental uncertainties in winter flood modelling and demonstrate the influence of the course and character of a given winter on the model’s capability to simulate the snow water equivalent and runoff.

Download Full-text