scholarly journals IMPACTS OF SNOWMELT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON HIMALAYAN RIVERS: THE CASE OF DATA-SCARCE DUDHKOSHI RIVER IN EASTERN NEPAL

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.

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


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Struzewska ◽  
Maciej Jefimow ◽  
Paulina Jagiełło ◽  
Maria Kłeczek ◽  
Anahita Sattari ◽  
...  

<p>Regional climate projections are necessary to assess possible changes in the exposure and risk to allow planning the adaptation strategies.</p><p>Projections of temperature and precipitation trends were developed using a consistent methodology and homogeneous datasets to address the needs of up-to-date climate change scenarios for Poland.</p><p>The Euro-Cordex results with the resolution of 0.11deg (about 12.5km) for RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 were downscaled based on various historical gridded datasets (EOBS, ERA5, UERRA and data from IMWM).</p><p>Ensemble analysis was undertaken to assess the projection uncertainty and ensemble mean were calculated for base parameters (daily average, minimum, and maximum temperature and daily precipitation sum) as well as for the number of climate indices.</p><p>We will present spatial and temporal variability of selected climate indices over Poland for subsequent decades. Increase of the annual average temperature is due to the rise in the number of hot days and the reduction of the number of frost days. All temperature indices are characterized by statistically significant trends, strongest for RCP8.5. The most pronounced changes in the frequency and amount of precipitation occur in the north-east of Poland. The total number of days with precipitation increases slightly. The increase in the annual rainfall is due to the increase in the number of days with extreme precipitation.</p><p>Results are presented via an interactive web portal. Further analysis includes the development of projection for solar radiation, wind speed, humidity and snow cover.</p>


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Naser Sediqi ◽  
Vempi Satriya Adi Hendrawan ◽  
Daisuke Komori

Abstract The global climate models (GCMs) of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) were used spatiotemporal projections of precipitation and temperature over Afghanistan for three shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP1-2.6, 2-4.5 and 5-8.5) and two future time horizons, early (2020-2059) and late (2060-2099). The Compromise Programming (CP) approach was employed to order the GCMs based on their skill to replicate precipitation and temperature climatology for the reference period (1975-2014). Three models, namely ACCESS-CM2, MPI-ESM1-2-LR, and FIO-ESM-2-0, showed the highest skill in simulating all three variables, and therefore, were chosen for the future projections. The ensemble mean of the GCMs showed an increase in maximum temperature by 1.5-2.5oC, 2.7-4.3 oC, and 4.5-5.3 oC and minimum temperature by 1.3-1.8 oC, 2.2-3.5 oC, and 4.6-5.2 oC for SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5, respectively in the later period. Meanwhile, the changes in precipitation in the range of -15-18%, -36-47% and -40-68% for SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5, respectively. The temperature and precipitation were projected to increase in the highlands and decrease over the deserts, indicating dry regions would be drier and wet regions wetter.


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.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 973
Author(s):  
Azfar Hussain ◽  
Jianhua Cao ◽  
Ishtiaq Hussain ◽  
Saira Begum ◽  
Mobeen Akhtar ◽  
...  

Having an extreme topography and heterogeneous climate, the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) is more likely to be affected by climate change and it is a crucial area for climatological studies. Based on the monthly minimum temperature (Tmin), maximum temperature (Tmax) and precipitation from nine meteorological stations, the spatiotemporal variability of temperature and precipitation were analyzed on monthly, seasonal, and annual scales. Results show a widespread significant increasing trend of 0.14 °C/decade for Tmax, but a significant decreasing trend of −0.08 °C/decade for Tmin annually, during 1955–2016 for the UIB. Seasonally, warming in Tmax is stronger in winter and spring, while the cooling in Tmin is greater in summer and autumn. Results of seasonal Tmax indicate increasing trends in winter, spring and autumn at rates of 0.38, 0.35 and 0.05 °C/decade, respectively, while decreasing in summer with −0.14 °C/decade. Moreover, seasonal Tmin results indicate increasing trends in winter and spring at rates of 0.09 and 0.08 °C/decade, respectively, while decreasing significantly in summer and autumn at rates of −0.21 and −0.22 °C/decade respectively for the whole the UIB. Precipitation exhibits an increasing trend of 2.74 mm/decade annually, while, increasing in winter, summer and autumn at rates of 1.18, 2.06 and 0.62 mm/decade respectively. The warming in Tmax and an increase in precipitation have been more distinct since the mid-1990s, while the cooling in Tmin is observed in the UIB since the mid-1980s. Warming in the middle and higher altitude (1500–2800 m and >2800 m) are much stronger, and the increase is more obvious in regions with elevation >2800 m. The wavelet analysis illustrated sporadic inter-annual covariance of seasonal Tmax, Tmin and precipitation with ENSO, NAO, IOD and PDO in the UIB. The periodicities were usually constant over short timescales and discontinuous over longer timescales. This study offers a better understanding of the local climate characteristics and provides a scientific basis for government policymakers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 1715-1725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safieh Javadinejad ◽  
Rebwar Dara ◽  
Forough Jafary

Climate change is an important environmental issue, as progression of melting glaciers and snow cover is sensitive to climate alteration. The aim of this research was to model climate alterations forecasts, and to assess potential changes in snow cover and snow-melt runoff under the different climate change scenarios in the case study of the Zayandeh-rud River Basin. Three cluster models for climate change (NorESM1-M, IPSL-CM5A-LR and CSIRO-MK3.6.0) were applied under RCP 8.5, 4.5 and 2.6 scenarios, to examine climate influences on precipitation and temperature in the basin. Temperature and precipitation were determined for all three scenarios for four periods of 2021-2030, 2031-2040, 2041-2050 and 2051-2060. MODIS (MOD10A1) was also applied to examine snow cover using temperature and precipitation data. The relationship between snow-covered area, temperature and precipitation was used to forecast future snow cover. For modeling future snow melt runoff, a hydrologic model of SRM was used including input data of precipitation, temperature and snow cover. The results indicated that all three RCP scenarios lead to an increase in temperature, and reduction in precipitation and snow cover. Investigation in snowmelt runoff throughout the observation period (November 1970 to May 2006) showed that most of annual runoff is derived from snow melting. Maximum snowmelt runoff is generated in winter. The share of melt water in the autumn and spring runoff is estimated at 35 and 53%, respectively. The results of this study can assist water manager in making better decisions for future water supply.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tugba Ozturk ◽  
Dominic Matte ◽  
Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen

<div><span>In this work, we investigate the scalability of wet and dry persisting conditions over the European domain. For this aim, we have used the EURO-CORDEX ensemble of regional climate projections at 0.11° grid-mesh for daily minimum and maximum temperature and precipitation to analyze future changes in relation with extreme weather events addressing climate warming targets of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C, respectively. A simple scaling with the annual mean global mean temperature change modeled by the driving GCM is applied. We also identify the emergence of the scaled patterns of minimum and maximum temperatures and of wet and dry persisting conditions in relation with certain extreme weather indices. In particular we focus on pattern scaling of extreme temperatures and precipitation over sub-regions over the Mediterranean basin since this region has been identified as a climate change hot spot.</span></div>


1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-226
Author(s):  
Saâd Bennis ◽  
Paul-Édouard Brunelle

The predictive snowmelt runoff model (SRM), previously suggested by other authors, is reliable and easy to use. Furthermore, the only parameters required are temperature and precipitation, and density and thickness of the snow pack. The literature available indicates that simulation results with this model are generally satisfactory. However, data on the extent of the snow cover are not always available; this means that the snow pack must be calculated before the SRM can be used. Our purpose herein is to develop a model to evaluate the snowpack, which is to be used in conjunction with the SRM. The SRM was modified in that maximum daily temperature was used instead of the number of degrees-days. The snowmelt and snow cover models were calibrated and tested along the drainage basin of the Eaton River, a tributary of the Saint-François River in the province of Quebec. Key words: snowmelt, prediction, flooding. [Journal translation]


Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyu Kyu Sein ◽  
Amnat Chidthaisong ◽  
and Kyaw Lwin Oo

Projected increase in frequency and severity of extreme events are important threat brought by climate change. Thus, there is a need to understand the dynamics and magnitude of climate extreme at local and regional level. This study examines the patterns of annual trends and changes of extreme daily temperature and precipitation in Myanmar for the period of 1981 to 2015 using the RClimDex 1.1 software. The trends of maximum and minimum temperature show significant warming trends (p < 0.001) across Myanmar. From 2009 to 2015, the maximum temperature anomaly has continuously increased by 0.5 °C for all years except 2011. The larger rise in both maximum and minimum temperature observed after 2000 suggests that, overall, days and nights are becoming hotter for the entirety of Myanmar over this recent period. Furthermore, our works also show that the temperature extreme indices of warm days and warm nights have increased, whereas the frequency of cool days and cool nights have decreased. Our analysis also reveals that increasing trends in precipitation anomaly were not significant during 1981–2015. On the contrary, slight increasing trends towards wetter conditions were observed with a rate of 76.52 mm/decade during the study period. The other precipitation extreme indicators—namely, annual total precipitation (PRCPTOT), heavy precipitation days (R20mm), extreme wet days precipitation (R99p), and consecutive wet days (CWD)—are consistent with warming trends. Additionally, the relationship between inter-annual variability in the climate extremes indices and Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) patterns was also examined with a focus on the influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon.


Author(s):  
Wolfgang Bogacki ◽  
M. Fraz Ismail

Abstract. An operational hydrological forecast model was set-up based on the Snowmelt-Runoff Model (SRM) in order to forecast Kharif flows from Upper Jhelum catchment. Zone-wise degree-day factor functions were derived by diagnostic calibration and are applied according to a defined temperature rule when melting starts. While predicting the depletion of snow-covered area by SRM's modified depletion curve approach, scenario runs with temperature and precipitation of past years are carried out which are evaluated statistically to forecast the seasonal flow volume.


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