scholarly journals Runoff modelling in glacierized Central Asian catchments for present-day and future climate

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Hagg ◽  
L.N. Braun ◽  
M. Weber ◽  
M. Becht

A conceptual precipitation–runoff model was applied in five glacierized catchments in Central Asia. The model, which was first developed and applied in the Alps, works on a daily time step and yields good results in the more continental climate of the Tien Shan mountains for present-day climate conditions. Runoff scenarios for different climates (doubling of CO2) and glacierization conditions predict an increased flood risk as a first stage and a more complex picture after a complete glacier loss: a higher discharge during spring due to an earlier and more intense snowmelt is followed by a water deficiency in hot and dry summer periods. This unfavourable seasonal redistribution of the water supply has dramatic consequences for the Central Asian lowlands, which depend to a high degree on the glacier melt water for irrigation and already nowadays suffer from water shortages.

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-128
Author(s):  
Kari Nupponen ◽  
Sergey Yu. Sinev

Three new species of the family Scythrididae are described from Central Asian mountains: Scythris cultelloides Nupponen & Sinev, sp. n., S. danilevskyi Nupponen & Sinev, sp. n. and S. ganesha Nupponen & Sinev, sp. n. One unknown species is reported but not formally described because only a single female is available.


Water SA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (4 October) ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Hughes ◽  
G De Winnaar ◽  
RE Schulze ◽  
M Mander ◽  
GPW Jewitt

South Africa is a semi-arid country which frequently faces water shortages, and experienced a severe drought in the 2016 and 2017 rainfall seasons. Government is under pressure to continue to deliver clean water to the growing population at a high assurance of supply. Studies now show that the delivery of water may be sustained not only through built infrastructure such as dams and pipelines, but also through investment in ecological infrastructure (EI). A daily time-step hydrological model was used to map areas which should be prioritised for protection or rehabilitation to sustain the delivery of water-related ecosystem services within the uMngeni catchment. We focused on three water-related ecosystem services, i.e.: water supply, sustained baseflow, erosion control/avoidance of excessive sediment losses. The two key types of degradation were modelled, namely, overgrazing and the invasion of upland areas by Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii). This, Part 1 of a paper in 2 parts, provides a discussion on the role of EI in delivering water-related ecosystem services, describes the motivation for the study, and the methods used in modelling and mapping the catchment. The results of this modelling exercise are presented in Part 2, which also explores and illustrates the potential hydrological benefits of rehabilitation and protection of EI in the uMngeni Catchment.


Water SA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (4 October) ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Hughes ◽  
G De Winnaar ◽  
RE Schulze ◽  
M Mander ◽  
GPW Jewitt

South Africa is a semi-arid country which frequently faces water shortages, and experienced a severe drought in the 2016 and 2017 rainfall seasons. Government is under pressure to continue to deliver clean water to the growing population at a high assurance of supply. Studies now show that the delivery of water may be sustained not only through built infrastructure such as dams and pipelines, but also through investment in ecological infrastructure (EI). Part 1 of this paper in 2 parts concentrated on the role of EI in delivering water-related ecosystem services, as well as the motivation for this study, and the methods used in modelling and mapping the catchment. Part 2 explores and illustrates the current level of delivery of water-related ecosystem services in different parts of the catchment, with potential hydrological benefits of rehabilitation and protection of EI in the uMngeni catchment. The Mpendle, Lions River, Karkloof, Inanda and Durban sub-catchments are important areas for the generation of streamflows which accumulate downstream (i.e. water yield in the catchment) when annual totals are considered. Modelled annual sediment yield (in tonnes) from naturally vegetated areas is most severe in the lower catchment areas with steeper slopes such as Inanda, and in the high-altitude areas which have both steeper slopes and higher rainfall. The central and eastern parts of the uMngeni catchment were found to contribute the greatest yield of sediment from degraded areas with low protective vegetation cover. This combined modelling and mapping exercise highlighted areas of priority ecosystem service delivery, such as higher altitude grassland areas, which could be recommended for formal conservation, or protection under private partnerships. Generally, these areas confirm the intuitive sense of catchment stakeholders, but provide a robust and more defendable analysis through which water volumes are quantifiable, and potential investment into catchment interventions are justified.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baktybek Duisebek ◽  
Maria Shahgedanova ◽  
Andrew Wade ◽  
Ragab Ragab

<p>South-eastern Kazakhstan is located in the foothills of the Northern Tien Shan Mountains. It has favourable conditions for growing diverse crops but many depend on irrigation. Water is provided by the melt of seasonal snow pack and glaciers.  Crop production in this region is relatively vulnerable to climate change. This study carried experimental measurement with modelling approach to assess and determine how climate change will impact major crop production in the region. The SALTMED crop model was tested for its ability to simulate soil water content (SWC), and final grain yield (Y) for rain-fed winter wheat and irrigated spring maize in 2017 and 2019 respectively. SALTMED is able to simulate SWC with a high degree of accuracy in both field. Simulating maize yield is fairly well, and if an adjustment was made for the locust effect for wheat, simulation would be better. Therefore, since SALTMED does not include the effect of pest on crop yield, a fairer test of the model would estimate the yield without the pest effect. Generally, SALTMED can be applicable in the region.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. M. Makarieva ◽  
N. V. Nesterova ◽  
G. P. Yampolsky ◽  
E. Y. Kudymova

Abstract: the article presents the results of application of distributed deterministic hydrological model Hydrograph for estimation of maximum discharge values of different frequency at the ungauged catchment of the Khemchik River (Khemchik village, Tuva Republic). The catchment area is 1750 km2 , the average and maximum elevation — 2200 and 3600 m, respectively. Due to the lack of detailed information, a schematization of the catchment and the parameterization of the model are proposed, based on general ideas about the water balance and the processes of runoff formation of the main landscapes — rocky talus, coniferous forest and steppe. Parameters and algorithms are verified based on the results of streamflow modeling at two studied catchments: the Tapsy River — Kara-Khol (302 km2 ) and the Khemchik River — Iyme (25500 km2 ). Modelling of runoff formation processes with daily time step for the Khemchik River — Khemchik village was conducted for the period 1966–2012 using observational data at Teeli meteorological station. For the transition from daily to instant discharges, the dependence of the observed values of instant and daily streamflow at the studied gauges has been applied. On the basis of simulated discharge series, the frequency curve was built and the obtained curve was compared with the calculation data according to the standard methodology SP 33-101-2003 “Determination of the main calculated hydrological characteristics” using the analogue river. Simulated maximum instant discharges for entire frequency interval of up to 1% are 1.3–5 times higher than the values obtained by standard methodology SP 33-101-2003. The results of model calculations is indirectly confirmed by the evidences of regular flooding of the Khemchik village provided by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Tuva Republic, which is not predicted by the values obtained by the standard methods.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Lander Van Tricht ◽  
Philippe Huybrechts ◽  
Jonas Van Breedam ◽  
Johannes J. Fürst ◽  
Oleg Rybak ◽  
...  

Abstract Glaciers in the Tien Shan mountains contribute considerably to the fresh water used for irrigation, households and energy supply in the dry lowland areas of Kyrgyzstan and its neighbouring countries. To date, reconstructions of the current ice volume and ice thickness distribution remain scarce, and accurate data are largely lacking at the local scale. Here, we present a detailed ice thickness distribution of Ashu-Tor, Bordu, Golubin and Kara-Batkak glaciers derived from radio-echo sounding measurements and modelling. All the ice thickness measurements are used to calibrate three individual models to estimate the ice thickness in inaccessible areas. A cross-validation between modelled and measured ice thickness for a subset of the data is performed to attribute a weight to every model and to assemble a final composite ice thickness distribution for every glacier. Results reveal the thickest ice on Ashu-Tor glacier with values up to 201 ± 12 m. The ice thickness measurements and distributions are also compared with estimates composed without the use of in situ data. These estimates approach the total ice volume well, but local ice thicknesses vary substantially.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4958 (1) ◽  
pp. 649-653
Author(s):  
PARIDE DIOLI

The first report of Phimodera flori Fieber, 1863 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) in the Balkan Peninsula (Mt. Olympus, Greece) is presented. This continental European and Central Asian species is rare in southern Europe where it has been found only at high altitudes of the Alps and the Pyrenees so far. It has been regarded as extinct from the 1970’s in many countries. The species is recorded for the first time for Greece, being Mt. Olympus the southernmost known locality. 


1992 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 7-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hu Ruji ◽  
Ma Hong ◽  
Wang Guo

The seasonal snow cover in the Tien Shan mountains is characterized by low density, low liquid-water content and low temperature. It is known as typical dry snow. Large temperature gradients in the basal layer of the snow cover exist throughout the entire period of snow accumulation, and depth hoar is therefore extremely well-developed. Full-depth depth-hoar avalanches, however, seldom occur. Avalanches in the Tien Shan mountains are mostly loose snow avalanches. Although normally not large in size, they are the most dangerous type. The occurrence of hazardous avalanches shows cycles of about ten years because of periodic climatic variations.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1542-1557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf El-Sadek ◽  
Max Bleiweiss ◽  
Manoj Shukla ◽  
Steve Guldan ◽  
Alexander Fernald

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