Radar for hydrology: Unfulfilled promise or unrecognized potential?

Hydrology requires accurate and reliable rainfall input. Because of the strong spatial and temporal variability of precipitation, estimation of spatially distributed rain rates is challenging. Despite the fact that weather radars provide high-resolution (but indirect) observations of precipitation, they are not used in hydrological applications as extensively as one could expect. The goal of the present review paper is to investigate this question and to provide a clear view of the opportunities (e.g., for flash floods, urban hydrology, rainfall spatial extremes) the limitations (e.g., complicated error structure, need for adjustment) and the challenges for the use of weather radar in hydrology (i.e., validation studies, precipitation forecasting, mountainous precipitation, error propagation in hydrological models).     

Snow hydrology signatures for model identification within a limits‐of‐acceptability approach

Discharge simulation from snow‐dominated catchments seems to be an easy task. Any spatially explicit precipitation–runoff model coupled to a temperature‐index snow model generally yields simulations that mimic well the observed daily discharges. The robustness of such models is, however, questionable: in the presence of strong annual discharge cycles, small model residuals do not guarantee high explanatory power of the underlying model. This paper proposes a methodology for snow hydrological model identification within a limits‐of‐acceptability framework, where acceptable model simulations are the ones that reproduce a set of signatures within an a priori specified range. The signatures proposed here namely include the relationship between the air temperature regime and the discharge regime, a new snow hydrology signature that can be readily transferred to other Alpine settings. The discriminatory power of all analysed signatures is assessed with a new measure of their discriminatory power in the model prediction domain. The value of the proposed snow hydrology signatures and of the limits‐of‐acceptability approach is demonstrated for the Dischma river in Switzerland, whose discharge shows a strong temporal variability of hydrologic forcing conditions over the last 30 years. The signature‐based model identification for this case study leads to the surprising conclusion that the observed discharge data contains a multi‐year period that cannot be reproduced with the model at hand. This model‐data mismatch might well result from a yet to be identified problem with the discharge observations, which would have been difficult to detect in a classical residual‐based model identification approach. Overall, the detailed results for this case study underline the robustness of the limits‐of‐acceptability approach in the presence of error‐prone observations if it is applied in combination with relatively robust signatures. Future work will show whether snow hydrology signatures and their limits‐of‐acceptability can be regionalized to ungauged catchments, which would make this model selection approach particularly powerful for Alpine environments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary and border considerations in hydrology

This paper examines several issues related to hydrological boundaries and their border zones. In a two‐dimensional space, a boundary is a line that separates two domains possessing different hydrological properties or dominated by different hydrological processes, and a border is an area that experiences an edge effect owing to transitions or mixing of processes. Hydrological boundaries may be static, such as drainage divides, or dynamic, such as the edges of a seasonal snow cover. They may be open or closed to the transfer of matter and energy, although most boundaries tend to be perforated, permitting different rates of movement across different segments. Borders may be narrow or the edge effect can affect large areas, as happens to the sensible heat flux over a highly fragmented melting snowfield. The introduction of artificial boundaries, notably the grid patterns of remote sensing pixels, digital elevation models and land surface schemes, gives rise to problems of mismatch with the natural hydrological boundaries. Incorrect demarcation, omission and generalization of boundaries can produce errors that are hard to rectify. Serious biases are involved when point observations are used to calibrate parameters or to validate model outputs integrated over a bounded area. Examples are drawn mainly from cold climate hydrology to illustrate the boundary issues but the questions transcend disciplinary areas. The intent of this presentation is to stimulate discussions that could be a prelude to finding solutions to many boundary problems which have thus far eluded hydrological investigations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

One hundred years of mountain hydrology in Switzerland by the WSL

In 1903 the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL started its first forest hydrology measurements with the aim to deliver a sound scientific basis for the implementation of new forest legislation introduced in Switzerland in 1876. This legislation was triggered by several large floods that occurred in Switzerland, for which a major cause was widely seen as the poor condition of forests at that time. Consequently, hydrologic research at WSL first focused on the influence of forests on floods. In the second half of the 20th century, other hydrological issues such as water quality, snow hydrology and sediment transport complemented the hydrologic research at WSL. Some recent results of this work are presented in three papers joining this introductory paper to mark the 100th anniversary of hydrologic research at WSL. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Knowledge gaps in our perceptual model of Great Britain's hydrology

There is a no lack of significant open questions in the field of hydrology. How will hydrological connectivity between freshwater bodies be altered by future human alterations to the hydrological cycle? Where does water go when it rains? Or what is the future space–time variability of flood and drought events? However, the answers to these questions will vary with location due to the specific and often poorly understood local boundary conditions and system properties that control the functional behaviour of a catchment or any other hydrologic control volume. We suggest that an open, shared and evolving perceptual model of a region's hydrology is critical to tailor our science questions, as it would be for any other study domain from the plot to the continental scale. In this opinion piece, we begin to discuss the elements of and point out some knowledge gaps in the perceptual model of the terrestrial water cycle of Great Britain. We discuss six major knowledge gaps and propose four key ways to reduce them. While the specific knowledge gaps in our perceptual model do not necessarily transfer to other places, we believe that the development of such perceptual models should be at the core of the debate for all hydrologic communities, and we encourage others to have a similar debate for their hydrologic domain.     

II. Snow hydrology processes and remote sensing

In the last 20 years remote sensing research has led to significant progress in monitoring and measuring certain snow hydrology processes. Snow distribution in a drainage basin can be adequately assessed by visible sensors. Although there are still some interpretation problems, the NOAA-AVHRR sensor can provide frequent views of the areal snow cover in a basin, and snow cover maps are produced operationally by the National Weather Service on about 3000 drainage basins in North America. Measurement of snow accumulation or snow water equivalent with microwave remote sensing has great potential because of the capabilities for depth penetration, all-weather observation and night-time viewing. Several critical areas of research remain, namely, the acquisition of snow grain size information for input to microwave models and improvement in passive microwave resolution from space. Methods that combine both airborne gamma ray and visible satellite remote sensing of the snowpack with field measurements also hold promise for determining areal snow water equivalent. Some remote sensing techniques can also be used to detect different stages of snow metamorphism. Various aspects of snowpack ripening can be detected using microwave and thermal infra-red capabilities. The capabilities for measurement of snow albedo and surface temperature have direct application in both snow metamorphism and snowpack energy balance studies. The potentially most profitable research area here is the study of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function to improve snow albedo measurements. Most of the remote sensing capabilities in snow hydrology have been developed for improving snowmelt-run-off forecasting. Most applications have used the input of snow cover extent to deterministic models, both of the degree day and energy balance types. Snowmelt-run-off forecasts using satellite derived snow cover depletion curves and the models have been successfully made. As the extraction of additional snow cover characteristics becomes possible, remote sensing will have an even greater impact on snow hydrology. Important remote sensing capabilities will become available in the next 20 years through space platform observing systems that will improve our capability to observe the snowpack on an operational basis.     

Contrasted hydrological responses to forest harvesting in two large neighbouring watersheds in snow hydrology dominant environment: implications for forest management and future forest hydrology studies

Two large neighbouring watersheds, the Bowron (3420 km²) and Willow (2860 km²) situated in the central interior of British Columbia, Canada, were used to compare their hydrological responses to forest harvesting in snow‐dominant environment. Both watersheds had experienced significant, comparative forest harvesting level. The long‐term hydrometric and timber harvesting data (>50 years of records) were analysed using time series analysis to examine the hydrological impacts of forest harvesting. The hydrological variables including mean, peak and low flows over annual and seasonal scales (spring snowmelt, summer rain and winter base flow) were tested separately. Results showed that forest harvesting in the Willow watershed significantly increased annual and spring mean flows as well as annual and spring peak flows, whereas it caused an insignificant change on those hydrological variables in the Bowron watershed. The contrasted differences in hydrological responses are due to the differences in topography, spatial heterogeneity, forest harvesting characteristics and climate between two watersheds. The relative uniform topography and climate in the Willow watershed may promote hydrological synchronization effects, whereas larger variation in elevations, together with forest harvesting that occurred at lower elevations, may cause hydrological de‐synchronization effect in the Bowron watershed. The contrasted results demonstrate that the effects of forest harvesting on hydrology in large watersheds are likely watershed specific, and any attempt to generalize hydrological responses to forest harvesting must be carried out with caution. A landscape ecological perspective is critically needed for future forest hydrology studies, particularly for large watersheds. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Operational applications of remote sensing in hydrology: success,prospects and problems

Abstract

The use of remote sensing information in operational hydrology is relatively limited, but specific examples can be cited for determining precipitation, soil moisture, groundwater, snow, surface water and basin characteristics. The application of remote sensing in hydrology can be termed operational if at least one of two conditions are met: (a) the application produces an output on a regular basis, or (b) the remote sensing data are used regularly on a continuing basis as part of a procedure to solve a problem or make decisions. When surveying the various operational applications, simple approaches and simple remote sensing data sets are the most successful. In the data-sparse developing countries, many operational remote sensing approaches exist (out of necessity) that may not be needed in developed countries because of existing data networks. To increase the use of remote sensing in operational hydrology in developed countries, pilot projects need to be increased and information services must be improved. Increased utilization of GIS to combine remote sensing with other information will promote new products and applications. End user training must be improved by focusing on satellite data processing and manipulation. In developing countries the same improvements are needed plus some more basic ones. There is a need for international monetary assistance to establish long-term remote sensing data, improved database systems and image processing capabilities. There is also the need to set up innovative regional training centres throughout the developing world.     

On the significance of crop‐type information for the simulation of catchment hydrology

Spatially distributed hydrological models require information on the land cover pattern, as it directly influences the generation of run‐off. However, it is not clear which detail of land cover information is suitable for simulating the catchment hydrology. A better understanding of the relationship between the land cover detail and the hydrological processes is therefore required as it would enhance a successful application of the hydrological model. This study investigates the relevance of accurate information about the crop types in the catchment for the simulation of run‐off, baseflow and evapotranspiration. Results reveal that adding knowledge about the crop type in the model simulation is redundant when area‐averaged water flux predictions are intended. On the contrary, when a spatial distribution of water flux predictions is desired, it is meaningful to increase the land cover detail because an increased heterogeneity in the land cover map induces an increased heterogeneity in the hydrological response and locally reduces the uncertainty in the model prediction up to 50%. To assess the land cover uncertainty and to locate the regions for which the reduction in prediction uncertainty is the highest, the thematic uncertainty map (constructed through fuzzy logic) is shown to be a useful tool. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国湖泊水文学研究进展与展望

湖泊是地球表层水体的重要组成部分,在区域社会经济发展和生物多样性保护等方面发挥着不可替代的作用.气候变化和高强度的水资源开发利用等,导致湖泊物理、化学特性在时空格局上发生显著的变化,引起一系列的社会、环境、气候等响应.湖泊水文学研究湖泊水文要素及其时空变化特征、平衡关系与变化规律,在水文过程演变与归因解析、湖泊洪旱发生机理与调控、湖泊资源评估与可持续利用等方面,解决了众多理论和实践问题,为区域发展提供了强大支撑.本文评述了近50年来我国湖泊水文学的发展与研究进展,重点阐述湖泊水量平衡与水量变化、湖泊水动力与水文过程调蓄、湖泊极端水文事件成因、湖泊水文遥感反演等方面的研究进展,展望了湖泊水文学的未来发展趋势.     

Communicating landscape hydrology — the water cycle in a box

Physical models are a well‐established tool in education to strengthen hydrological understanding. They facilitate the straightforward visualization of hydrological processes and allow the communication of hydrological concepts, research and questions of general interest to the public. In order to visualize the water cycle in a landscape of postglacial sediments, in particular the subsurface part, a physical model was constructed. In two videos, (1) a detailed construction manual and (2) visualization examples of hydrological concepts and processes are presented. With our contribution, we like to encourage professionals in the field of hydrology to share methods and tools of knowledge transfer and communication of hydrological concepts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating the SWAT's snow hydrology over a Northern Quebec watershed

The snow treatment becomes an important component of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)’s hydrology when spring flows are dominated by snow melting. However, little is known about SWAT's snow hydrology performance because most studies using SWAT were conducted in rainfall‐driven catchments. To fill this gap, the present study aims to evaluate the ability of SWAT in simulating snow‐melting‐dominated streamflow in the Outardes Basin in Northern Quebec. SWAT performance in simulating snowmelt is evaluated against observed streamflow data and compared to simulations from the operationally used Streamflow Synthesis and Reservoir Regulation (SSARR) model over that catchment. The SWAT 5‐year calibration showed a satisfactory performance at the daily and seasonal time scales with low volume biases. The SWAT validation was conducted over two (17‐year and 15‐year) periods. Performances were similar to the calibration period in simulating the daily and seasonal streamflows again with low model biases. The spring‐snowmelt‐generated peak flow was accurately simulated by SWAT both in magnitude and timing. When SWAT's results are compared to SSARR, similar performances in simulating the daily discharges were observed. SSARR simulates more accurately streamflow generated at the snowmelt onset whereas SWAT better predicts streamflow in summer, fall and winter. SWAT provided reasonable streamflow simulations for our snow‐covered catchment, but refinement of the process‐driven baseflow during the snowmelt onset could improve spring performances. Therefore, SWAT becomes an attractive tool for evaluating water resources management in Nordic environments when a distributed model is preferred or when water quality information (e.g. temperature) is required. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of climate change on runoff in the upper part of the Euphrates basin

Abstract

Among the processes most affected by global warming are the hydrological cycle and water resources. Regions where the majority of runoff consists of snowmelt are very sensitive to climate change. It is significant to express the relationship between climate change and snow hydrology and it is imperative to perform climate change impact studies on snow hydrology at global and regional scales. Climate change impacts on the mountainous Upper Euphrates Basin were investigated in this paper. First, historical data trend analysis of significant hydro-meteorological data is presented. Available future climate data are then explained, and, finally, future climate data are used in hydrological models, which are calibrated and validated using historical hydro-meteorological data, and future streamflow is projected for the period 2070–2100. The hydrological model outcomes indicate substantial runoff decreases in summer and spring season runoff, which will have significant consequences on water sectors in the Euphrates Basin.

Citation Yilmaz, A.G. & Imteaz, M.A. (2011) Impact of climate change on runoff in the upper part of the Euphrates basin. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(7), 1265–1279.     

Initial results from a distributed,physically based model of glacier hydrology

This paper describes the development and testing of a distributed, physically based model of glacier hydrology. The model is used to investigate the behaviour of the hydrological system of Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Valais, Switzerland. The model has an hourly time-step and three main components: a surface energy balance submodel, a surface flow routing submodel and a subglacial hydrology submodel. The energy balance submodel is used to calculate meltwater production over the entire glacier surface. The surface routing submodel routes meltwater over the glacier surface from where it is produced to where it either enters the subglacial hydrological system via moulins or runs off the glacier surface. The subglacial hydrology submodel calculates water flow in a network of conduits, which can evolve over the course of a melt season simulation in response to changing meltwater inputs. The main model inputs are a digital elevation model of the glacier surface and its surrounding topography, start-of-season snow depth distribution data and meteorological data. Model performance is evaluated by comparing predictions with field measurements of proglacial stream discharge, subglacial water pressure (measured in a borehole drilled to the glacier bed) and water velocities inferred from dye tracer tests. The model performs best in comparison with the measured proglacial stream discharges, but some of the substantial features of the other two records are also reproduced. In particular, the model results show the high amplitude water pressure cycles observed in the borehole in the mid-melt season and the complex velocity/discharge hysteresis cycles observed in dye tracer tests. The results show that to model outflow hydrographs from glacierized catchments effectively, it is necessary to simulate spatial and temporal variations in surface melt rates, the delaying effect of the surface snowpack and the configuration of the subglacial drainage system itself. The model's ability to predict detailed spatial and temporal patterns of subglacial water pressures and velocities should make it a valuable tool for aiding the understanding of glacier dynamics and hydrochemistry. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling the effects of land use and climate changes on hydrology in the Ursern Valley,Switzerland

While many studies have been conducted in mountainous catchments to examine the impact of climate change on hydrology, the interactions between climate changes and land use components have largely unknown impacts on hydrology in alpine regions. They need to be given special attention in order to devise possible strategies concerning general development in these regions. Thus, the main aim was to examine the impact of land use (i.e. bushland expansion) and climate changes (i.e. increase of temperature) on hydrology by model simulations. For this purpose, the physically based WaSiM‐ETH model was applied to the catchment of Ursern Valley in the central Alps (191 km²) over the period of 1983?2005. Modelling results showed that the reduction of the mean monthly discharge during the summer period is due primarily to the retreat of snow discharge in time and secondarily to the reduction in the glacier surface area together with its retreat in time, rather than the increase in the evapotranspiration due to the expansion of the “green alder” on the expense of grassland. The significant decrease in summer discharge during July, August and September shows a change in the regime from b‐glacio‐nival to nivo‐glacial. These changes are confirmed by the modeling results that attest to a temporal shift in snowmelt and glacier discharge towards earlier in the year: March, April and May for snowmelt and May and June for glacier discharge. It is expected that the yearly total discharge due to the land use changes will be reduced by 0.6% in the near future, whereas, it will be reduced by about 5% if climate change is also taken into account. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The vertical influence of temperature and precipitation on snow cover variability in the Central Tianshan Mountains,Northwest China

Seasonal snow cover in mountainous regions will affect local climate and hydrology. In this study, we assessed the role of altitude in determining the relative importance of temperature and precipitation in snow cover variability in the Central Tianshan Mountains. The results show that: (a) in the study area, temperature has a greater influence on snow cover than precipitation during most of the time period studied and in most altitudes. (b) In the high elevation area, there is a threshold altitude of 3,900 ± 400 m, below which temperature is negatively correlated whereas precipitation is positively correlated to snow cover, and above which the situation is the opposite. Besides, this threshold altitude decreases from snow accumulated period to snow stable period and then increases from snowmelt period to snow‐free period. (c) Below 2,000 m, there is another threshold altitude of 1,400 ± 100 m during the snow stable period, below (above) which precipitation (temperature) is the main driver of snow cover.     

Modelling of wildfire impacts on catchment hydrology applied to two case studies

We used a conceptual modelling approach on two western Canadian mountainous catchments that were burned in separate wildfires in 2003 to explore the potential of using modelling approaches to generalize post‐wildfire catchment hydrology in cases where pre‐wildfire hydrologic data were present or absent. The Fishtrap Creek case study (McLure fire, British Columbia) had a single gauged catchment with both pre‐fire and post‐fire data, whereas the Lost Creek case study (Lost Ck. fire, Alberta) had several instrumented burned and reference catchments providing streamflows and climate data only for the post‐wildfire period. Wildfire impacts on catchment hydrology were assessed by comparing pre‐wildfire and post‐wildfire model calibrated parameter sets for Fishtrap Creek (Fishtrap Ck.) and the calibrated parameters of two burned (South York Ck. and Lynx Ck.) and two unburned (Star Ck. and North York Ck.) catchments for Lost Ck. Model predicted streamflows for burned catchments were compared with unburned catchments (pre‐fire in the case of Fishtrap Ck. and unburned in the case of the Lost Ck.). Similarly, model predicted streamflows from unburned catchments were compared with burned catchments (post‐fire in the case of Fishtrap Ck. and burned in the case of the Lost Ck.). For Fishtrap Ck., different model parameters and streamflow behaviour were observed for pre‐wildfire and post‐wildfire conditions. However, the burned and unburned model results from the Lost Ck. wildfire did not show differing streamflow responses to the wildfire. We found that this hydrological modelling approach is suitable where pre‐wildfire and post‐wildfire data are available but may provide limited additional insights where pre‐disturbance hydrologic data are unavailable. This may in part be because the conceptual modelling approach does not represent the physical catchment processes, whereas a physically based model may still provide insights into catchment hydrological response in these situations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Supraglacial weathering crust dynamics inferred from cryoconite hole hydrology

Water levels in cryoconite holes were monitored at high resolution over a 3‐week period on Austre Brøggerbreen (Svalbard). These data were combined with melt and energy balance modelling, providing insights into the evolution of the glacier's near‐surface hydrology and confirming that the hydrology of the near‐surface, porous ice known as the ‘weathering crust’ is dynamic and analogous to a shallow‐perched aquifer. A positive correlation between radiative forcing of melt and drainage efficiency was found within the weathering crust. This likely resulted from diurnal contraction and dilation of interstitial pore spaces driven by variations in radiative and turbulent fluxes in the surface energy balance, occasionally causing ‘sudden drainage events’. A linear decrease in water levels in cryoconite holes was also observed and attributed to cumulative increases in near‐surface ice porosity over the measurement period. The transport of particulate matter and microbes between cryoconite holes through the porous weathering crust is shown to be dependent upon weathering crust hydraulics and particle size. Cryoconite holes therefore yield an indication of the hydrological dynamics of the weathering crust and provide long‐term storage loci for cryoconite at the glacier surface. This study highlights the importance of the weathering crust as a crucial component of the hydrology, ecology and biogeochemistry of the glacier ecosystem and glacierized regions and demonstrates the utility of cryoconite holes as natural piezometers on glacier surfaces. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

History of forest hydrology

Hydrology as a science and a technology is examined, as are some of the myths on the role of forests in hydrology and water resources. The history of catchment area research is traced, in Europe, in the USA and in East Africa, with particular reference to forest hydrology and, in the earlier years, to water quantity rather than water quality. The importance of associating physical process studies with hydrological systems' investigations, to enhance understanding of why particular catchments behave as they do, is stressed. Recent advances in hydrochemistry have been exploited to elucidate water flow paths within experimental catchments. Stimulated by requirements for research into acidification of surface waters, research catchments have proved to be valuable outdoor laboratories from which a much improved understanding of the flow processes has been achieved. Conflicting claims about the impacts of forestry are described and discussed.     

Coupling of a simultaneous heat and water model with a distributed hydrological model and evaluation of the combined model in a cold region watershed

Snow and frozen soil prevail in cold regions worldwide, and the integration of these processes is crucial in hydrological models. In this study, a combined model was developed by fully coupling a simultaneous heat and water model with a geomorphologically based distributed hydrological model. The combined model simulates vertical and lateral water transfer as well as vertical heat fluxes and is capable of representing the effects of frozen soil and snowmelt on hydrological processes in cold regions. This model was evaluated by using in situ observations in the Binggou watershed, an experimental watershed for cold region hydrology of the Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research Project. Results showed that the model was able to predict soil freezing and thawing, unfrozen soil water content, and snow depth reasonably well. The simulated hydrograph was in good agreement with the in situ observation. The Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient of daily discharge was 0.744 for the entire simulation period, 0.472 from April to June, and 0.711 from June to November. This model can improve our understanding of hydrological processes in cold regions and assess the impacts of global warming on hydrological cycles and water resources. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.