Impact of Climate Change on the Spatiotemporal Distribution of Stream Flow and Sediment Yield of Darbandikhan Watershed, Iraq

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (2A) ◽  
pp. 265-276
Author(s):  
Mahmoud S. Al- Khafaji ◽  
Rana D. Al- Chalabi

The impact of climate change on stream flow and sediment yield in Darbandikhan Watershed is an important challenge facing the water resources in Diyala River, Iraq. This impact was investigated using five Global Circulation Models (GCM) based climate change projection models from the A1B scenario of medium emission. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to compute the temporal and spatial distribution of streamflow and sediment yield of the study area for the period 1984 to 2050. The daily-observed flow recorded in Darbandikhan Dam for the period from 1984 to 2013 was used as a base period for future projection. The initial results of SWAT were calibrated and validated using SUFI-2 of the SWAT-CUP program in daily time step considering the values of the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) coefficient of determination (R2) as a Dual objective function. Results of NSE and R2 during the calibration (validation) periods were equal to 0.61 and 0.62(0.53 and 0.68), respectively. In addition, the average future prediction for the five climate models indicated that the average yearly flow and sediment yield in the watershed would decrease by about 49% and 44%, respectively, until the year 2050 compared with these of the base period from 1984 to 2013. Moreover, spatial analysis shows that 89.6 % and 90 % of stream flow and sediment come from the Iranian part of Darbandikhan watershed while the remaining small percent comes from Iraq, respectively. However, the middle and southern parts of Darbandikhan Watershed contribute by most of the stream...

Hydrology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud S. Al-Khafaji ◽  
Rana D. Al-Chalabi

The impact of climate change on the streamflow and sediment yield in the Derbendkhan and Hemrin Watersheds is an important challenge facing the water resources of the Diyala River in Iraq. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to project this impact on streamflow and sediment yield until year 2050 by applying five climate models for scenario A1B involving medium emissions. The models were calibrated and validated based on daily observed streamflow and sediment recorded for the periods from 1984 to 2013 and 1984 to 1985, respectively. The Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency and coefficient of determination values for the calibration (validation) were 0.61 (0.53) and 0.6 (0.62) for Derbendkhan and Hemrin, respectively. In addition, the average of the future predictions for the five climate models indicated that the streamflow (sediment yield) for the Derbendkhan and Hemrin Watersheds would decrease to 49% (43.7%) and 20% (30%), respectively, until 2050, compared with the observed flow of the base period from 1984 to 2013. The spatial analysis showed that 10.4% and 68% of the streamflow comes from Iraqi parts of the Derbendkhan and Hemrin Watersheds, respectively, while 10% and 60% of the sediment comes from the Iraqi parts of the Derbendkhan and Hemrin Watersheds, respectively. Deforestation of the northern part of the Hemrin Watershed is the best method to decrease the amount of sediment entering the Hemrin Reservoir.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 3339-3384
Author(s):  
B. Shrestha ◽  
M. S. Babel ◽  
S. Maskey ◽  
A. van Griensven ◽  
S. Uhlenbrook ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper evaluates the impact of climate change on sediment yield in the Nam Ou Basin located in Northern Laos. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is used to assess future changes in sediment flux attributable to climate change. Future precipitation and temperature series are constructed through a delta change approach. As per the results, in general, temperature as well as precipitation show increasing trends in both scenarios, A2 and B2. However, monthly precipitation shows both increasing and decreasing trends. The simulation results exhibit that the wet and dry seasonal and annual stream discharges are likely to increase (by up to 15, 17 and 14% under scenario A2; and 11, 5 and 10% under scenario B2 respectively) in the future, which will lead to increased wet and dry seasonal and annual sediment yields (by up to 39, 28 and 36% under scenario A2; and 23, 12 and 22% under scenario B2 respectively). A higher discharge and more sediment flux are expected during the wet seasons, although the changes, percentage-wise, are observed to be higher during the dry months. In conclusion, the sediment yield from the Nam Ou Basin is likely to increase with climate change, which strongly suggests the need for basin-wide sediment management strategies in order to reduce the negative impact of this change.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saddique ◽  
Usman ◽  
Bernhofer

Projected climate changes for the 21st century may cause great uncertainties on the hydrology of a river basin. This study explored the impacts of climate change on the water balance and hydrological regime of the Jhelum River Basin using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Two downscaling methods (SDSM, Statistical Downscaling Model and LARS-WG, Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator), three Global Circulation Models (GCMs), and two representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) for three future periods (2030s, 2050s, and 2090s) were used to assess the climate change impacts on flow regimes. The results exhibited that both downscaling methods suggested an increase in annual streamflow over the river basin. There is generally an increasing trend of winter and autumn discharge, whereas it is complicated for summer and spring to conclude if the trend is increasing or decreasing depending on the downscaling methods. Therefore, the uncertainty associated with the downscaling of climate simulation needs to consider, for the best estimate, the impact of climate change, with its uncertainty, on a particular basin. The study also resulted that water yield and evapotranspiration in the eastern part of the basin (sub-basins at high elevation) would be most affected by climate change. The outcomes of this study would be useful for providing guidance in water management and planning for the river basin under climate change.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ameer Muhammad ◽  
Grey R. Evenson ◽  
Fisaha Unduche ◽  
Tricia A. Stadnyk

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is known for its hydrologically complex landscape with a large number of pothole wetlands. However, most watershed-scale hydrologic models that are applied in this region are incapable of representing the dynamic nature of contributing area and fill-spill processes affected by pothole wetlands. The inability to simulate these processes represents a critical limitation for operators and flood forecasters and may hinder the management of large reservoirs. We used a modified version of the soil water assessment tool (SWAT) model capable of simulating the dynamics of variable contributing areas and fill-spill processes to assess the impact of climate change on upstream inflows into the Shellmouth reservoir (also called Lake of the Prairie), which is an important reservoir built to provide multiple purposes, including flood and drought mitigation. We calibrated our modified SWAT model at a daily time step using SUFI-2 algorithm within SWAT-CUP for the period 1991–2000 and validated for 2005–2014, which gave acceptable performance statistics for both the calibration (KGE = 0.70, PBIAS = −13.5) and validation (KGE = 0.70, PBIAS = 21.5) periods. We then forced the calibrated model with future climate projections using representative concentration pathways (RCPs; 4.5, 8.5) for the near (2011–2040) and middle futures (2041–2070) of multiple regional climate models (RCMs). Our modeling results suggest that climate change will lead to a two-fold increase in winter streamflow, a slight increase in summer flow, and decrease spring peak flows into the Shellmouth reservoir. Investigating the impact of climate change on the operation of the Shellmouth reservoir is critically important because climate change could present significant challenges to the operation and management of the reservoir.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Kingsley Nnaemeka Ogbu ◽  
Emeka L Ndulue ◽  
Isiguzo Edwin Ahaneku ◽  
Ikenna Joseph Ubah

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was applied in this study to simulate stream-flow in the Oyun River Basin. The model was calibrated and validated using monthly stream-flow data for the basin. Model performance was satisfactory for calibration and validation with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.69 and 0.88, respectively. Climate change impact on Oyun River was assessed by driving the SWAT model with climate parameters obtained from two global climate models (HadGEM2-ES and BCC-CCSM1-1M) based on RCP 2.6 for 2050 – 2059 and 2080 – 2089 periods. With respect to a baseline period of 2000 – 2009, HadGEM2-ES predicted a 4.62% decrease in total stream-flow while the BCC-CSM1-1M predicted stream-flow increase by 6.18% for the 2050 – 2059 period. However, both HadGEM2-ES and BCC-CCSM1-1M predicted stream-flow to increase by 18.92% and 11.25% respectively for the 2080 period. The HadGEM2-ES model showed consistency in relating future rainfall predictions with future discharge trends for the periods under study. Model results show the need for adaptive measures to mitigate climate change impacts on the water resource system.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Shrestha ◽  
M. S. Babel ◽  
S. Maskey ◽  
A. van Griensven ◽  
S. Uhlenbrook ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper evaluates the impact of climate change on sediment yield in the Nam Ou basin located in northern Laos. Future climate (temperature and precipitation) from four general circulation models (GCMs) that are found to perform well in the Mekong region and a regional circulation model (PRECIS) are downscaled using a delta change approach. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is used to assess future changes in sediment flux attributable to climate change. Results indicate up to 3.0 °C shift in seasonal temperature and 27% (decrease) to 41% (increase) in seasonal precipitation. The largest increase in temperature is observed in the dry season while the largest change in precipitation is observed in the wet season. In general, temperature shows increasing trends but changes in precipitation are not unidirectional and vary depending on the greenhouse gas emission scenarios (GHGES), climate models, prediction period and season. The simulation results show that the changes in annual stream discharges are likely to range from a 17% decrease to 66% increase in the future, which will lead to predicted changes in annual sediment yield ranging from a 27% decrease to about 160% increase. Changes in intra-annual (monthly) discharge as well as sediment yield are even greater (−62 to 105% in discharge and −88 to 243% in sediment yield). A higher discharge and sediment flux are expected during the wet seasons, although the highest relative changes are observed during the dry months. The results indicate high uncertainties in the direction and magnitude of changes of discharge as well as sediment yields due to climate change. As the projected climate change impact on sediment varies remarkably between the different climate models, the uncertainty should be taken into account in both sediment management and climate change adaptation.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Rickards ◽  
Thomas Thomas ◽  
Alexandra Kaelin ◽  
Helen Houghton-Carr ◽  
Sharad K. Jain ◽  
...  

The Narmada river basin is a highly regulated catchment in central India, supporting a population of over 16 million people. In such extensively modified hydrological systems, the influence of anthropogenic alterations is often underrepresented or excluded entirely by large-scale hydrological models. The Global Water Availability Assessment (GWAVA) model is applied to the Upper Narmada, with all major dams, water abstractions and irrigation command areas included, which allows for the development of a holistic methodology for the assessment of water resources in the basin. The model is driven with 17 Global Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) ensemble to assess the impact of climate change on water resources in the basin for the period 2031–2060. The study finds that the hydrological regime within the basin is likely to intensify over the next half-century as a result of future climate change, causing long-term increases in monsoon season flow across the Upper Narmada. Climate is expected to have little impact on dry season flows, in comparison to water demand intensification over the same period, which may lead to increased water stress in parts of the basin.


Author(s):  
K. Nivedita Priyadarshini ◽  
S. A. Rahaman ◽  
S. Nithesh Nirmal ◽  
R. Jegankumar ◽  
P. Masilamani

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Climate change impacts on watershed ecosystems and hydrologic processes are complex. The key significant parameters responsible for balancing the watershed ecosystems are temperature and rainfall. Though these parameters are uncertain, they play a prime role in the projections of dimensional climate change studies. The impact of climate change is more dependent on temperature and precipitation which contributes at a larger magnitude for characterising global warming issues. This paper aims to forecast the variations of temperature and precipitation during the period of 2020&amp;ndash;2050 for the northern part of Thenpennar sub basin. This study is modelled using SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) &amp;ndash; a scale model developed to predict the impact of changes that occurs in land, soil and water over a period of time. This study is validated using the base period from 1980&amp;ndash;2000 which shows the distribution of rainfall and temperature among 38 watersheds. The results from this study show that there is a decrease in the rainfall for a maximum of about 20% in the month of December during the predicted period of 2020 and 2050. This study assesses the possible adverse impact of climate change on temperature and precipitation of Thenpennai sub-basin. This kind of predictions will help the government agencies, rulers and decision makers in policy making and implementing the adaptation strategies for the changing climatic conditions.</p>


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