scholarly journals The relevance of glacier melt in the water cycle of the Alps: the example of Austria

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 2039-2048 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Koboltschnig ◽  
W. Schöner

Abstract. This paper quantifies the contribution of glacier melt to river runoff from compilation and statistical interpretation of data from available studies based on observations or glacio- hydrological modelling for the region of Austria (Austrian Salzach and Inn river basin). A logarithmic fit between the glacier melt contribution and the relative glacierized area was found not only for the long-term mean glacier contributions but also for the glacier melt contribution during the extreme hot an dry summer of 2003. Interestingly, the mean contributions of glacier melt to river runoff do not exceed 15 % for both river catchments and are uncorrelated to glacierization for glacierization values >10 %. This finding, however, has to be seen in the light of the general precipitation increase with altitude for the study region which levels out the increase of absolute melt with glacierization thus resulting in the rather constant value of glacier melt contribution. In order to qualitatively proof this finding another approach has been applied by calculating the quotient qA03 of the mean monthly August runoff in 2003 and the long-term mean August runoff for 38 gauging stations in Austria. The extreme summer 2003 was worth to be analysed as from the meteorological and glaciological point of view an extraordinary situation was observed. During June and July nearly the entire snow-cover melted and during August mainly bare ice melt of glaciers contributed to runoff. The qA03 quotients were calculated between 0.32 for a non-glacierized and 2.0 for a highly glacierized catchment. Using the results of this study the mean and maximum possible glacier melt contribution of catchments can be estimated based on the relative glacierized area. It can also be shown that the found correlation of glacierized area and glacier melt contribution is applicable for the Drau basin where yet no results of modelled glacier melt contributions are available.

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 2897-2913 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Koboltschnig ◽  
W. Schöner

Abstract. This paper gives an overview on available methods how the contribution of glacier melt to runoff can be calculated with and without glaico-hydrological models. Further we applied an approach, which shows the potential of glacier melt contribution during the extreme hot and dry summer of 2003 by calculating the quotient qA03 of the mean monthly August runoff in 2003 and the long-term mean August runoff. The extreme summer 2003 was worth to be analysed as from the meteorological and glaciological point of view an extraordinary situation was observed. During June and July nearly the entire snow-cover melted and during the hot and dry August mainly ice melt of glaciers contributed to runoff. The mean runoff in August 2003 was calculated from observed mean daily runoff data of a selected period in August 2003 (3 to 27 August). This was done for 27 Austrian gauging stations in the glacierized basins of the rivers Inn, Salzach and Drau with a degree of glaciation between 2 and 76%. The quotient qA03 was calculated between 0.63 and 1.82, which means for the lower value that only 63% of the long-term mean August runoff and for the higher value 82% more than the long-term mean August runoff was observed in 2003. Additionally two stations at river Danube (0.4 and 1% glacierized) and further six gauging stations in catchments with no glacier cover were investigated to define qA03 quotients for non-glacierized basins. These qA03 quotients were calculated between 0.31 and 0.54. Hence, it was possible to qualitatively visualize the decreasing impact of glacier melt for a decreasing degree of glaciation. Nevertheless, for the accurate calculation of the glacier melt contribution for a certain catchment scale and time a glaio-hydrological model is needed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Feng ◽  
Paul Houser

In this study, we developed a suite of spatially and temporally scalable Water Cycle Indicators (WCI) to examine the long-term changes in water cycle variability and demonstrated their use over the contiguous US (CONUS) during 1979–2013 using the MERRA reanalysis product. The WCI indicators consist of six water balance variables monitoring the mean conditions and extreme aspects of the changing water cycle. The variables include precipitation (P), evaporation (E), runoff (R), terrestrial water storage (dS/dt), moisture convergence flux (C), and atmospheric moisture content (dW/dt). Means are determined as the daily total value, while extremes include wet and dry extremes, defined as the upper and lower 10th percentile of daily distribution. Trends are assessed for annual and seasonal indicators at several different spatial scales. Our results indicate that significant changes have occurred in most of the indicators, and these changes are geographically and seasonally dependent. There are more upward trends than downward trends in all eighteen annual indicators averaged over the CONUS. The spatial correlations between the annual trends in means and extremes are statistically significant across the country and are stronger forP,E,R, andCcompared todS/dtanddW/dt.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Franczak ◽  
Waldemar Kociuba ◽  
Grzegorz Gajek

Abstract River runoff variability in the Scott River catchment in the summer seasons 2012 and 2013 has been presented in comparison to the multiannual river runoff in 1986–2009. Both in particular seasons and in the analysed multiannual, high variability of discharge rate was recorded. In the research periods 2012–2013, a total of 11 952 water stages and 20 flow rates were measured in the analysed cross-section for the determination of 83 daylong discharges. The mean multiannual discharge of the Scott River amounted to 0.96 m3·s−1. The value corresponds to a specific runoff of 94.6 dm3·s−1·km2, and the runoff layer 937 mm. The maximum values of daily discharge amounted to 5.07 m3·s−1, and the minimum values to 0.002 m3·s−1. The highest runoff occurs in the second and third decade of July, and in the first and second decade of August. The regime of the river is determined by a group of factors, and particularly meteorological conditions affecting the intensity of ablation, and consequently river runoff volume. We found a significant correlation (0.60 in 2012 and 0.67 in 2013) between the air temperature and the Scott River discharge related to the Scott Glacier ice melt.


2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (72) ◽  
pp. 11-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kuhn ◽  
Kay Helfricht ◽  
Martin Ortner ◽  
Johannes Landmann ◽  
Wolfgang Gurgiser

ABSTRACTThe retention and release of liquid water in glacierized basins was modelled with a conceptual, semi-distributed model of the water and ice balance designed for long-term averages with monthly resolution for 100 m elevation bands. Here we present the components of the liquid water balance of 86 mostly glacierized basins on either side of the main Alpine divide between 10 and 13°E in the period 1998–2006 and compare them with the records of 30 basins monitored from 1970 to 1997. Basin average of liquid water retention has maxima in excess of 100 mm per month in May, often followed by maximum release when the retaining snow matrix melts. Glacier storage peaks in August partly due to ice melt and the ensuing filling of the englacial reservoirs and partly on account of a precipitation maximum. These two components combined to a common maximum of storage in summer in the first period 1970–97 and developed two distinct maxima in the warmer period 1998–2006. A further maximum of liquid water storage that was often found in October is most likely due to a peak in precipitation in the southern part of the study region.


1995 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 405-406
Author(s):  
J. Gál ◽  
K. Szatmáry

AbstractLight curve analysis of the carbon variable RY Dra and the oxygen-rich variables TX Dra and AF Cyg is summarised. In each case, two shorter periods were found (which may be connected with the radial pulsation of the stars) and also a long term variation in the mean brightness. In the case of RY Dra, the amplitudes of the shorter periods both decreased while the amplitude of the long secondary variation was found to be increasing. The light curves and frequency spectra of TX Dra and AF Cyg can be interpreted as a result of mode switching. These stars pulsate with two different periods and there are time intervals when the longer period disappears and the shorter one remains dominant, and it lasts for many cycles. We concluded that the double and multi-periodic red semiregular variables may be very important from both theoretical and observational point of view, because, based on the ratio of the periods, we can identify the pulsational modes in these variables.


The study was undertaken to understand the farmers' point of view about climate change and its impacts on agriculture and various adaptation strategies to deal with climate change in the Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh. The results revealed the majority of farmers (85.83 percent) believed that the long-term changes in the mean temperature and increase in the number of hot days were some of the major climatic changes over the last 30 years (85.83 percent), and also, there was an introduction of new crops (Cereals, vegetables, fruits, etc.) in their area (42.50 percent). The majority of them were using High Yielding Variety seeds (93.33 percent) and improved crop varieties (54.17 percent), and most of them had also adopted crop diversification (45.00 percent) as an adaptive measure towards climate change. The lack of credit facilities, irregularity of extension services, high cost of adoption, etc., was the major problems in adopting various strategies to cope with climate change. Need-based water supply, government policies to support the farmers during natural calamities, efforts to create awareness among the people about climate change, its impacts and its adaptive measures were some of the important suggestions given by the farmers to deal with climate change. The eco-friendly and more economically cheaper measures should be employed by installing favourable modern agricultural technologies favourable to the study area.


1987 ◽  
Vol 57 (01) ◽  
pp. 55-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
J F Martin ◽  
T D Daniel ◽  
E A Trowbridge

SummaryPatients undergoing surgery for coronary artery bypass graft or heart valve replacement had their platelet count and mean volume measured pre-operatively, immediately post-operatively and serially for up to 48 days after the surgical procedure. The mean pre-operative platelet count of 1.95 ± 0.11 × 1011/1 (n = 26) fell significantly to 1.35 ± 0.09 × 1011/1 immediately post-operatively (p <0.001) (n = 22), without a significant alteration in the mean platelet volume. The average platelet count rose to a maximum of 5.07 ± 0.66 × 1011/1 between days 14 and 17 after surgery while the average mean platelet volume fell from preparative and post-operative values of 7.25 ± 0.14 and 7.20 ± 0.14 fl respectively to a minimum of 6.16 ± 0.16 fl by day 20. Seven patients were followed for 32 days or longer after the operation. By this time they had achieved steady state thrombopoiesis and their average platelet count was 2.44 ± 0.33 × 1011/1, significantly higher than the pre-operative value (p <0.05), while their average mean platelet volume was 6.63 ± 0.21 fl, significantly lower than before surgery (p <0.001). The pre-operative values for the platelet volume and counts of these patients were significantly different from a control group of 32 young males, while the chronic post-operative values were not. These long term changes in platelet volume and count may reflect changes in the thrombopoietic control system secondary to the corrective surgery.


1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (03) ◽  
pp. 263-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M H P van den Besselaar ◽  
R M Bertina

SummaryIn a collaborative trial of eleven laboratories which was performed mainly within the framework of the European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR), a second reference material for thromboplastin, rabbit, plain, was calibrated against its predecessor RBT/79. This second reference material (coded CRM 149R) has a mean International Sensitivity Index (ISI) of 1.343 with a standard error of the mean of 0.035. The standard error of the ISI was determined by combination of the standard errors of the ISI of RBT/79 and the slope of the calibration line in this trial.The BCR reference material for thromboplastin, human, plain (coded BCT/099) was also included in this trial for assessment of the long-term stability of the relationship with RBT/79. The results indicated that this relationship has not changed over a period of 8 years. The interlaboratory variation of the slope of the relationship between CRM 149R and RBT/79 was significantly lower than the variation of the slope of the relationship between BCT/099 and RBT/79. In addition to the manual technique, a semi-automatic coagulometer according to Schnitger & Gross was used to determine prothrombin times with CRM 149R. The mean ISI of CRM 149R was not affected by replacement of the manual technique by this particular coagulometer.Two lyophilized plasmas were included in this trial. The mean slope of relationship between RBT/79 and CRM 149R based on the two lyophilized plasmas was the same as the corresponding slope based on fresh plasmas. Tlowever, the mean slope of relationship between RBT/79 and BCT/099 based on the two lyophilized plasmas was 4.9% higher than the mean slope based on fresh plasmas. Thus, the use of these lyophilized plasmas induced a small but significant bias in the slope of relationship between these thromboplastins of different species.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-522
Author(s):  
Jeyakumar S ◽  
Jagatheesan Alagesan ◽  
T.S. Muthukumar

Background: Frozen shoulder is disorder of the connective tissue that limits the normal Range of motion of the shoulder in diabetes, frozen shoulder is thought to be caused by changes to the collagen in the shoulder joint as a result of long term Hypoglycemia. Mobilization is a therapeutic movement of the joint. The goal is to restore normal joint motion and rhythm. The use of mobilization with movement for peripheral joints was developed by mulligan. This technique combines a sustained application of manual technique “gliding” force to the joint with concurrent physiologic motion of joint, either actively or passively. This study aims to find out the effects of mobilization with movement and end range mobilization in frozen shoulder in Type I diabetics. Materials and Methods: 30 subjects both male and female, suffering with shoulder pain and clinically diagnosed with frozen shoulder was recruited for the study and divided into two groups with 15 patients each based on convenient sampling method. Group A patients received mobilization with movement and Group B patients received end range mobilization for three weeks. The outcome measurements were SPADI, Functional hand to back scale, abduction range of motion using goniometer and VAS. Results: The mean values of all parameters showed significant differences in group A as compared to group B in terms of decreased pain, increased abduction range and other outcome measures. Conclusion: Based on the results it has been concluded that treating the type 1 diabetic patient with frozen shoulder, mobilization with movement exercise shows better results than end range mobilization in reducing pain and increase functional activities and mobility in frozen shoulder.


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