scholarly journals Snow-Cover Area and Runoff Variation under Climate Change in the West Kunlun Mountains

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ma ◽  
Yan ◽  
Zhao ◽  
Kundzewicz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Initial Increase ◽  
Runoff Generation ◽  
The West ◽  
Snow Cover Area ◽  
Kunlun Mountains ◽  
West Kunlun

In recent years, the climate in the arid region of Northwest China has become warmer and wetter; however, glaciers in the north slope of the West Kunlun Mountains (NSWKM) show no obvious recession, and river flow is decreasing or stable. This contrasts with the prevalent response of glaciers to climate change, which is recession and initial increase in glacier discharge followed by decline as retreat continues. We comparatively analyzed multi-timescale variation in temperature–precipitation–snow cover-runoff in the Yarkant River Basin (YRK), Karakax River Basin (KRK), Yurungkax River Basin (YUK), and Keriya River Basin (KRY) in the NSWKM. The Mann–Kendall trend and the mutation–detection method were applied to data obtained from an observation station over the last 60 years (1957–2017) and MODIS snow data (2001–2016). NSWKM temperature and precipitation have continued to increase for nearly 60 years at a mean rate of 0.26 °C/decade and 5.50 mm/decade, respectively, with the most obvious trend (R2 > 0.82) attributed to the KRK and YUK. Regarding changes in the average snow-cover fraction (SCF): YUK (SCF = 44.14%) > YRK (SCF = 38.73%) > KRY (SCF = 33.42%) > KRK (SCF = 33.40%). Between them, the YRK and YUK had decreasing SCA values (slope < −15.39), while the KRK and KRY had increasing SCA values (slope > 1.87). In seasonal variation, the SCF of the three of the basins reaches the maximum value in spring, with the most significant performance in YUK (SCF = 26.4%), except for YRK where SCF in spring was lower than that in winter (−2.6%). The runoff depth of all river basins presented an increasing trend, with the greatest value appearing in the YRK (5.78 mm/decade), and the least value in the YUK (1.58 mm/decade). With the runoff response to climate change, temperature was the main influencing factor of annual and monthly (summer) runoff variations in the YRK, which is consistent with the runoff-generation rule of rivers in arid areas, which mainly rely on ice and snow melt for water supply. However, this rule was not consistent for the YUK and KRK, as it was disturbed by other factors (e.g., slope and slope direction) during runoff generation, resulting in disruptions of their relationship with runoff. This research promotes the study of the response of cold and arid alpine regions to global change and thus better serve regional water resources management.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Impact of Climate Change on Snow Distribution and River Flows in a Snow-Dominated Mountainous Watershed in the Western Hindukush–Himalaya, Afghanistan

Hydrology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Abdul Haseeb Azizi ◽  
Yoshihiro Asaoka
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
21St Century ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
River Flow ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Snow Cover Area ◽  
River Flows ◽  
Late 21St Century ◽  
The Impact

Projected snow cover and river flows are important for planning and managing water resources in snow-dominated basins of the Himalayas. To quantify the impacts of climate change in the data scarce Panjshir River basin of Afghanistan, this study simulated present and future snow cover area (SCA) distributions with the snow model (SM), and river flows with the snowmelt runoff model (SRM). The SRM used the degree-day factor and precipitation gradient optimized by the SM to simulate river flows. Temperature and precipitation data from eight kinds of general circulation models (GCMs) were used for bias correction. The SM and SRM were first calibrated and validated using 2009–2015 data, and then bias-corrected future climate data were input to the models to simulate future SCA and river flows. Under both the representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5, the annual average SCA and river flow were projected to decrease in the mid and late 21st century, although seasonal increases were simulated in some instances. Uncertainty ranges in projected SCA and river flow under RCP 8.5 were small in the mid 21st century and large in the late 21st century. Therefore, climate change is projected to alter high-altitude stream sources in the Hindukush mountains and reduce the amount of water reaching downstream areas.

Potential impact of climate change on snow cover area in the Tarim River basin

2007 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 1465-1474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Changchun ◽  
Chen Yaning ◽  
Li Weihong ◽  
Chen Yapeng ◽  
Ge Hongtao
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Tarim River ◽  
Tarim River Basin ◽  
Snow Cover Area ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
The Tarim River ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Tarim River Basin

Evidence of river flow regulation loss over time in the Magdalena river basin 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diver E. Marín ◽  
Juan F. Salazar ◽  
José A. Posada-Marín
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Scaling Theory ◽  
Scaling Properties ◽  
Low Flows ◽  
High Flows ◽  
Magdalena River

&lt;p&gt;Some of the main problems in hydrological sciences are related to how and why river flows change as a result of environmental change, and what are the corresponding implications for society. This has been described as the Panta Rhei context, which refers to the challenge of understanding and quantifying hydrological dynamics in a changing environment, i.e. under the influence of non-stationary effects. The river flow regime in a basin is the result of a complex aggregation process that has been studied by the scaling theory, which allows river basins to be classified as regulated or unregulated and to identify a critical threshold between these states. Regulation is defined here as the basin&amp;#8217;s capacity to either dampen high flows or to enhance low flows. This capacity depends on how basins store and release water through time, which in turn depends on many processes that are highly dynamic and sensitive to environmental change. Here we focus on the Magdalena river basin in northwestern South America, which is the main basin for water and energy security in Colombia, and at the same time, it has been identified as one of the most vulnerable regions to be affected by climate change. Building upon some of our previous studies, here we use data analysis to study the evolution of regulation in the Magdalena basin for 1992-2015 based on the scaling theory for extreme flows. In contrast to most previous studies, here we focus on the scaling properties of events rather than on long term averages. We discuss possible relations between changes in the scaling properties and environmental factors such as climate variability, climate change, and land use/land cover change, as well as the potential implications for water security in the country. Our results show that, during the last few decades, the Magdalena river basin has maintained its capacity to regulate low flows (i.e. amplification) whereas it has been losing its capacity to regulate high flows (i.e. dampening), which could be associated with the occurrence of the extremes phases of&amp;#160; El Ni&amp;#241;o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and anthropogenic effects, mainly deforestation. These results provide foundations for using the scaling laws as empirical tools for understanding temporal changes of hydrological regulation and simultaneously generate useful scientific evidence that allows stakeholders to take decisions related to water management in the Magdalena river basin in the context of environmental change.&lt;/p&gt;

The optical behaviour of snow during a melting season at Ny Ålesund (Svalbard, Norway)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Salzano ◽  
Christian Lanconelli ◽  
Giulio Esposito ◽  
Marco Giusto ◽  
Mauro Montagnoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Optical Behaviour ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Snow Cover Area ◽  
Significant Information

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Polar areas are the most sensitive targets of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;climate change and the continuous monitoring of the cryosphere represents a critical issue. The satellite remote sensing can fill this gap but further integration between remotely-sensed multi-spectral images and field data is crucial to validate retrieval algorithms and climatological models. The optical behaviour of snow, at different wavelengths, provides significant information about the micro-physical characteristics of the surface and this allow to discriminate different snow/ice covers. The aim of this work is to present an approach based on combining unmanned observations on spectral albedo and on the analysis of time-lapse images of sky and ground conditions in a&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;n &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Ar&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;c&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;tic &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;test-site &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;(Svalbard, Norway). Terrestrial photography can provide, in fact, important information about the cloud cover and support the discrimination between white-sky or clear-sky illuminating conditions. Similarly, time-lapse cameras can provide a detailed description of the snow cover, estimating the fractional snow cover area. The spectral albedo was obtained by a narrow band device that was compared to a full-range commercial system and to remotely sensed data acquired during the 2015 spring/summer period at the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Amundsen - Nobile&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; Climate Change Tower (Ny &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#197;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;lesund). The results confirmed the possibility to have continuous observations of the snow surface (microphisical) characteristics and highlighted the opportunity to monitor the spectral variations of snowed surfaces during the melting period. It was possible, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;therefore,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; to estimate spectral indexes, such as NDSI and SWIR albedo, and to found interesting links between both features and air/ground temperatures, wind-speed and precipitations. Different melting phases were detected and different processes were associated with the observed spectral variations.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Glacier Changes in the West Kunlun Mountains Revealed by Landsat Data from 1994 to 2016

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 012002
Author(s):  
J Zhang ◽  
B H Fu ◽  
L M Wang ◽  
A Maimaiti ◽  
Y X Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Landsat Data ◽  
The West ◽  
Kunlun Mountains ◽  
Glacier Changes ◽  
West Kunlun

scholarly journals Variation of snow cover in the Nyang River basin of southeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Zongxue Xu ◽  
Depeng Zuo ◽  
Chunguang Ban
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Snow Water Equivalent ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Snow Cover Area ◽  
Northern Edge ◽  
Slight Upward Trend

Abstract Snow cover is highly sensitive to global climate change and strongly influences the climate at global and regional scales. Because of limited in situ observations, snow cover dynamics in the Nyang River basin (NRB) have been examined in few studies. Five snow cover indices derived from observation and remote sensing data from 2000 to 2018 were used to investigate the spatial and temporal variation of snow cover in the NRB. There was clear seasonality in the snow cover throughout the entire basin. The maximum snow-covered area was 8,751.35 km2, about 50% of the total basin area, and occurred in March. The maximum snow depth (SD) was 5.35 cm and was found at the northern edge of the middle reaches of the basin. Snow cover frequency, SD, and fraction of snow cover area increased with elevation. The decrease in SD was the most marked in the elevation range of 5,000–6,000 m. Above 6,000 m, the snow water equivalent showed a slight upward trend. There was a significant negative correlation between snow cover and temperature. The results of this study could improve our understanding of changes in snow cover in the NRB from multivariate perspectives. It is better for water resources management.

scholarly journals Climate change impacts on hydrology and water resources of Indian River basin

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umesh Kumar Singh ◽  
Balwant Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Groundwater Recharge ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Runoff Generation

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission is altering the global hydrological cycle due to change in rainfall pattern and rising temperature which is responsible for alteration in the physical characteristics of river basin, melting of ice, drought, flood, extreme weather events and alteration in groundwater recharge. In India, water demand for domestic, industrial and agriculture purposes have already increased many folds which are also influencing the water resource system. In addition, climate change has induced the surface temperature of the Indian subcontinent by 0.48 ºC in just last century. However, Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) river basins have great importance for their exceptional hydro-geological settings and deltaic floodplain wetland ecosystems which support 700 million people in Asia. The climatic variability like alterations in precipitation and temperature over GBM river basins has been observed which signifies the GBM as one of the most vulnerable areas in the world under the potential impact of climate change. Consequently, alteration in river discharge, higher runoff generation, low groundwater recharge and melting of glaciers over GBM river basin could be observed in near future. The consequence of these changes due to climate change over GBM basin may create serious water problem for Indian sub-continents. This paper reviews the literature on the historical climate variations and how climate change affects the hydrological characteristics of different river basins.

Accretion and Collision Orogeneses in the West Kunlun Mountains, China

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 843-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Zong-Qi ◽  
Chun-Fa Jiang ◽  
Quan-Ren Yan ◽  
Zhen Yan
Keyword(s):  
The West ◽  
Kunlun Mountains ◽  
West Kunlun

scholarly journals Effect of Land Use Land Cover and Climate Change on River Flow and Soil Loss in Didessa River Basin, South West Blue Nile, Ethiopia

Hydrology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinati Chimdessa ◽  
Shoeb Quraishi ◽  
Asfaw Kebede ◽  
Tena Alamirew
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Soil Losses

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.

scholarly journals Future evolution and uncertainty of river flow regime change in a deglaciating river basin

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1833-1865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Mackay ◽  
Nicholas E. Barrand ◽  
David M. Hannah ◽  
Stefan Krause ◽  
Christopher R. Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Flow Regime ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Emission Scenario ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Model Chain ◽  
Runoff Routing

Abstract. The flow regimes of glacier-fed rivers are sensitive to climate change due to strong climate–cryosphere–hydrosphere interactions. Previous modelling studies have projected changes in annual and seasonal flow magnitude but neglect other changes in river flow regime that also have socio-economic and environmental impacts. This study employs a signature-based analysis of climate change impacts on the river flow regime for the deglaciating Virkisá river basin in southern Iceland. Twenty-five metrics (signatures) are derived from 21st century projections of river flow time series to evaluate changes in different characteristics (magnitude, timing and variability) of river flow regime over sub-daily to decadal timescales. The projections are produced by a model chain that links numerical models of climate and glacio-hydrology. Five components of the model chain are perturbed to represent their uncertainty including the emission scenario, numerical climate model, downscaling procedure, snow/ice melt model and runoff-routing model. The results show that the magnitude, timing and variability of glacier-fed river flows over a range of timescales will change in response to climate change. For most signatures there is high confidence in the direction of change, but the magnitude is uncertain. A decomposition of the projection uncertainties using analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows that all five perturbed model chain components contribute to projection uncertainty, but their relative contributions vary across the signatures of river flow. For example, the numerical climate model is the dominant source of uncertainty for projections of high-magnitude, quick-release flows, while the runoff-routing model is most important for signatures related to low-magnitude, slow-release flows. The emission scenario dominates mean monthly flow projection uncertainty, but during the transition from the cold to melt season (April and May) the snow/ice melt model contributes up to 23 % of projection uncertainty. Signature-based decompositions of projection uncertainty can be used to better design impact studies to provide more robust projections.

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