scholarly journals Application of the Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Salang River Basin, Afghanistan Using MODIS Satellite Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-118
Author(s):  
Hedayatullah Arian ◽  
Rijan B. Kayastha ◽  
Bikas C. Bhattarai ◽  
Ahuti Shresta ◽  
Hafizullah Rasouli ◽  
...  

This study is carried out on the Salang River basin, which is located at the northern part of the Kabul River basin, and in the south facing slope of the Hindu Kush Mountains. The basin drains through the Salang River, which is one of the tributaries of the Panjshir River. The basin covers an area of 485.9km2 with a minimum elevation of 1653 m a.s.l. and a maximum elevation of 4770 m a.s.l. The Salang River sustains a substantial flow of water in summer months due to the melting of snow. In this study, we estimate daily discharge of Salang River from 2009 to 2011 using the Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM, Version 1.12, 2009), originally developed by J. Martinec in 1975. The model uses daily observed precipitation, air temperature and snow cover data as input variables from which discharge is computed. The model is calibrated for the year 2009 and validated for 2010 and 2011. The observed and calculated annual average discharges for the calibration year 2009 are 11.57m3s-1 and 10.73m3s-1, respectively. Similarly, the observed and calculated annual average discharges for the validation year 2010 are 11.55m3s-1 and 10.07m3s-1, respectively and for 2011, the discharges are 9.05 m3s-1 and 9.6m3s-1, respectively. The model is also tested by changing temperature and precipitation for the year 2009. With an increase of 1°C in temperature and 10% in precipitation, the increases in discharge for winter, summer and annually are 21.8%, 13.5% and 14.8%, respectively. With an increase of 2°C in temperature and 20% in precipitation, the increases are 48.5%, 43.3% and 44.1%, respectively. The results obtained suggest that the SRM can be used as a promising tool to estimate the river discharge of the snow fed mountainous river basins of Afghanistan and to study the impact of climate change on river flow pattern of such basins.Journal of Hydrology and Meteorology, Vol. 9(1) 2015, p.109-118

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hafizullah Rasouli ◽  
Rijan B. Kayastha ◽  
Bikas C. Bhattarai ◽  
Ahuti Shrestha ◽  
Hedayatullah Arian ◽  
...  

In this study, we estimated discharge from Upper Kabul River basin in the Hindu Kush Mountain (Paghman range) in Afghanistan. The Upper Kabul River basin covers an area of 1633.8km2 with a maximum elevation of 4522 m and minimum elevation of 1877 m. The Kabul River is one of the main rivers in Afghanistan and sustains a significant flow of water in summer months due to the melting of snow. In this study, daily discharge from Upper Kabul River basin, west of Kabul basin, for 2009 and 2011 is estimated by using Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM) (Version 1.12, 2009), originally developed my J. Martinec in 1975. Daily precipitation, air temperature, discharge and snow cover data are used in the model as input variables. We calibrated the model for 2009 and validated in 2011. The observed and calculated annual average discharges in 2009 are 5.7m3/s and 5.6m3/s, respectively; and in 2011 are 1.33m3/s and 1.31m3/s, respectively. The model results are in good agreement with the measured daily discharges. With an increase of 1°C in temperature and 10% precipitation, the increase in discharge in winter, summer and annually relative to 2009 discharge are 39%, 18.5% and 17.9%, respectively. Similarly, with an increase of 2°C in temperature and 20% in precipitation, modeled discharge increases by 51.2%, 40.8% and 47.3%, respectively. The results obtained suggest that the SRM can be used efficiently for estimating discharge in the snow fed sub-catchment of the Upper Kabul River basin and other mountain basins in Afghanistan.Journal of Hydrology and Meteorology, Vol. 9(1) 2015, p.85-94


Author(s):  
Sudeep Pokhrel ◽  
Saraswati Thapa

Water from snow-melt is crucial to provide ecosystem services in downstream of the Himalayas. To study the fate of snow hydrology, an integrated modeling system has been developed coupling Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) outputs with Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM) in the Dudhkoshi Basin, Nepal. The SRM model is well-calibrated in 2011 and validated in 2012 and 2014 using MODIS satellite data. The annual average observed and simulated discharges for the calibration year are 177.89 m3 /s and 181.47 m3 /s respectively. To assess future climate projections for the periods 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, the SDSM model is used for downscaling precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature from the Canadian GCM model (CanESM2) under three different scenarios RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. All considered scenarios are significant in predicting increasing trends of maximumminimum temperature and precipitation and the storehouse of freshwater in the mountains is expected to deplete rapidly if global warming continues.


Hydrology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinati Chimdessa ◽  
Shoeb Quraishi ◽  
Asfaw Kebede ◽  
Tena Alamirew

In the Didessa river basin, which is found in Ethiopia, the human population number is increasing at an alarming rate. The conversion of forests, shrub and grasslands into cropland has increased in parallel with the population increase. The land use/land cover change (LULCC) that has been undertaken in the river basin combined with climate change may have affected the Didessa river flow and soil loss. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the impact of LULCC on the Didessa river flow and soil loss under historical and future climates. Land use/land cover (LULC) of the years 1986, 2001 and 2015 were independently combined with the historical climate to assess their individual impacts on river flow and soil loss. Further, the impact of future climates under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios on river flow and soil loss was assessed by combining the pathways with the 2015 LULC. A physically based Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT2012) model in the ArcGIS 10.4.1 interface was used to realize the purpose. Results of the study revealed that LULCC that occurred between 1986 and 2015 resulted in increased average sediment yield by 20.9 t ha−1 yr−1. Climate change under RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 combined with 2015 LULC increased annual average soil losses by 31.3, 50.9 and 83.5 t ha−1 yr−1 compared with the 2015 LULC under historical climate data. It was also found that 13.4%, 47.1% and 87.0% of the total area may experience high soil loss under RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. Annual soil losses of five top-priority sub catchments range from 62.8 to 57.7 per hectare. Nash Stuncliffe Simulation efficiency (NSE) and R2 values during model calibration and validation indicated good agreement between observed and simulated values both for flow and sediment yield.


1989 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Dey ◽  
V. K. Sharma ◽  
A. Rango

In the Snowmelt-Runoff Model (SRM), the estimate of discharge volume is based on temperature condition in the form of degree days which are used to melt the snowpack in the area of the basin covered by snow as observed from satellites. Precipitation input is used to add any rainfall runoff to the snowmelt component. When SRM was applied to the large, international Kabul River basin, initial simulations were much above the observed stream flow values. Close inspection revealed several problems in the application of SRM to the Kabul Basin that were easily corrected. Foremost among the corrections were determination of an appropriate lapse rate, substitution of a more representative mean elevation for extrapolation of temperature data, and use of an automatic streamflow updating procedure. These improvements led to a simulation for 1976 that was comparable to other simulations on large, inaccessible basins. As SRM is applied to more basins similar to the Kabul River, the determination of suitable parameters for new basin will be enhanced. Additional improvements in simulations would result from installation of climate stations at the mean elevation of basins and work to assure delivery of timely and reliable satellite snow cover data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Til Prasad Pangali Sharma ◽  
Jiahua Zhang ◽  
Narendra Raj Khanal ◽  
Foyez Ahmed Prodhan ◽  
Basanta Paudel ◽  
...  

The Himalayan region, a major source of fresh water, is recognized as a water tower of the world. Many perennial rivers originate from Nepal Himalaya, located in the central part of the Himalayan region. Snowmelt water is essential freshwater for living, whereas it poses flood disaster potential, which is a major challenge for sustainable development. Climate change also largely affects snowmelt hydrology. Therefore, river discharge measurement requires crucial attention in the face of climate change, particularly in the Himalayan region. The snowmelt runoff model (SRM) is a frequently used method to measure river discharge in snow-fed mountain river basins. This study attempts to investigate snowmelt contribution in the overall discharge of the Budhi Gandaki River Basin (BGRB) using satellite remote sensing data products through the application of the SRM model. The model outputs were validated based on station measured river discharge data. The results show that SRM performed well in the study basin with a coefficient of determination (R2) >0.880. Moreover, this study found that the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover data and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) meteorological datasets are highly applicable to the SRM in the Himalayan region. The study also shows that snow days have slightly decreased in the last three years, hence snowmelt contribution in overall discharge has decreased slightly in the study area. Finally, this study concludes that MOD10A2 and ECMWF precipitation and two-meter temperature products are highly applicable to measure snowmelt and associated discharge through SRM in the BGRB. Moreover, it also helps with proper freshwater planning, efficient use of winter water flow, and mitigating and preventive measures for the flood disaster.


1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. P. Halappa Gowda ◽  
L. E. Post

A steady state mathematical model based on the "stream tube" concept was utilized to evaluate the impact of various viable management options on the mixing zone boundaries for nonionized ammonia and total residual chlorine at the Grand River below Waterloo, Kitchener, and Galt, and the Speed River below Guelph. The options evaluated as part of the Grand River Basin Water Management Study include various river flows and effluent flows projected for the planning period 1981–2031. The predictions indicate that a zone of passage equal to 60% of river flow is attainable for chlorine in all cases except in the Speed River below Guelph beyond the year 2001, and in-plant nitrification is required at Waterloo and Kitchener under the present conditions in order to comply with the objective for nonionized ammonia. At Guelph, with in-plant nitrification, the model predicts that the ammonia objective will not be met for existing and future summer conditions and for winter conditions beyond the year 2001. For Galt, the ammonia objective is met with conventional secondary treatment under all options. The maximum longitudinal boundary of limited use zone for various options is also summarized. Key words: ammonia, chlorine, limited use zone, management options, mixing zone, modelling, rivers, zone of passage.


1979 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rango ◽  
J. Martinec

The snowmelt-runoff model developed by Martinec (1975) has been used to simulate daily streamflow on the 228 km2 Din woody Creek basin in Wyoming, U.S.A. using snowcover extent from Landsat and conventionally measured temperature and precipitation. For the six-month snowmelt seasons of 1976 and 1974 the simulated seasonal runoff volumes were within 5 and 1%, respectively, of the measured runoff. Also the daily fluctuations of discharge were simulated to a high degree by the model. Thus far the limiting basin size for applying the model has not been reached, and improvements can be expected if the hydrometeorological data can be obtained from a station inside the basin. Landsat provides an efficient way to obtain the critical snowcover input parameter required by the model.


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