Spatially distributed hydrotope‐based modelling of evapotranspiration and runoff in mountainous basins

River basins in mountainous regions are characterized by strong variations in topography, vegetation, soils, climatic conditions and snow cover conditions, and all are strongly related to altitude. The high spatial variation needs to be considered when modelling hydrological processes in such catchments. A complex hydrological model, with a great potential to account for spatial variability, was developed and applied for the hourly simulation of evapotranspiration, soil moisture, water balance and the runoff components for the period 1993 and 1994 in 12 subcatchments of the alpine/pre‐alpine basin of the River Thur (area 1703 km²). The basin is located in the north‐east of the Swiss part of the Rhine Basin and has an elevation range from 350 to 2500 m a.s.l. A considerable part of the Thur Basin is high mountain area, some of it above the tree‐line and a great part of the basin is snow covered during the winter season. In the distributed hydrological model, the 12 sub‐basins of the Thur catchment were spatially subdivided into sub‐areas (hydrologically similar response units—HRUs or hydrotopes) using a GIS. Within the HRUs a hydrologically similar behaviour was assumed. Spatial interpolations of the meteorological input variables wereemployed for each altitudinal zone. The structure of the model components for snow accumulation and melt, interception, soil water storage and uptake by evapotranspiration, runoff generation and flow routing are briefly outlined. The results of the simulated potential evapotranspiration reflect the dominant role of altitudinal change in radiation and albedo of exposure, followed by the influence of slope. The actual evapotranspiration shows, in comparison with the potential evapotranspiration, a greater variability in the lower and medium altitudinal zones and a smaller variability in the upper elevation zones, which was associated with limitations of available moisture in soil and surface depression storages as well as with the evaporative demand of the local vegetation. The higher altitudinal dependency and variability of runoff results from the strong increase in precipitation and the decrease in evaporation with increased altitude. An increasing influence of snow cover on runoff as well as evapotranspiration with altitude is obvious. The computed actual evapotranspiration and runoff were evaluated against the observed values of a weighting lysimeter and against runoff hydrographs. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of land cover change on streamflow in the interior Columbia River Basin (USA and Canada)

An analysis of the hydrological effects of vegetation changes in the Columbia River basin over the last century was performed using two land cover scenarios. The first was a reconstruction of historical land cover vegetation, c. 1900, as estimated by the federal Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP). The second was current land cover as estimated from remote sensing data for 1990. Simulations were performed using the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) hydrological model, applied at one‐quarter degree spatial resolution (approximately 500 km² grid cell area) using hydrometeorological data for a 10 year period starting in 1979, and the 1900 and current vegetation scenarios. The model represents surface hydrological fluxes and state variables, including snow accumulation and ablation, evapotranspiration, soil moisture and runoff production. Simulated daily hydrographs of naturalized streamflow (reservoir effects removed) were aggregated to monthly totals and compared for nine selected sub‐basins. The results show that, hydrologically, the most important vegetation‐related change has been a general tendency towards decreased vegetation maturity in the forested areas of the basin. This general trend represents a balance between the effects of logging and fire suppression. In those areas where forest maturity has been reduced as a result of logging, wintertime maximum snow accumulations, and hence snow available for runoff during the spring melt season, have tended to increase, and evapotranspiration has decreased. The reverse has occurred in areas where fire suppression has tended to increase vegetation maturity, although the logging effect appears to dominate for most of the sub‐basins evaluated. Predicted streamflow changes were largest in the Mica and Corralin sub‐basins in the northern and eastern headwaters region; in the Priest Rapids sub‐basin, which drains the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains; and in the Ice Harbor sub‐basin, which receives flows primarily from the Salmon and Clearwater Rivers of Idaho and western Montana. For these sub‐basins, annual average increases in runoff ranged from 4·2 to 10·7% and decreases in evapotranspiration ranged from 3·1 to 12·1%. In comparison with previous studies of individual, smaller sized watersheds, the modelling approach used in this study provides predictions of hydrological fluxes that are spatially continuous throughout the interior Columbia River basin. It thus provides a broad‐scale framework for assessing the vulnerability of watersheds to altered streamflow regimes attributable to changes in land cover that occur over large geographical areas and long time‐frames. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of changes in winter snowpacks on summer low flows: case studies in the Sierra Nevada,California, USA

Seasonal low flows are important for sustaining ecosystems and for supplying human needs during the dry season. In California's Sierra Nevada mountains, low flows are primarily sustained by groundwater that is recharged during snowmelt. As the climate warms over the next century, the volume of the annual Sierra Nevada snowpack is expected to decrease by ~40–90%. In eight snow‐dominated catchments in the Sierra Nevada, we analysed records of snow water equivalent (SWE) and unimpaired streamflow records spanning 10–33 years. Linear extrapolations of historical SWE/streamflow relationships suggest that annual minimum flows in some catchments could decrease to zero if peak SWE is reduced to roughly half of its historical average. For every 10% decrease in peak SWE, annual minimum flows decrease 9–22% and occur 3–7 days earlier in the year. In two of the study catchments, Sagehen and Pitman Creeks, seasonal low flows are significantly correlated with the previous year's snowpack as well as the current year's snowpack. We explore how future warming could affect the relationship between winter snowpacks and summer low flows, using a distributed hydrologic model Regional Hydro‐ecologic Ecosystem Simulation System (RHESSys) to simulate the response of two study catchments. Model results suggest that a 10% decrease in peak SWE will lead to a 1–8% decrease in low flows. The modelled streams do not dry up completely, because the effects of reduced SWE are partly offset by increased fall or winter net gains in storage, and by shifts in the timing of peak evapotranspiration. We consider how groundwater storage, snowmelt and evapotranspiration rates, and precipitation phase (snow vs rain) influence catchment response to warming. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationships between snowpack,low flows and stream temperature in mountain watersheds of the US west coast

Water temperatures in mountain streams are likely to rise under future climate change, with negative impacts on ecosystems and water quality. However, it is difficult to predict which streams are most vulnerable due to sparse historical records of mountain stream temperatures as well as complex interactions between snowpack, groundwater, streamflow and water temperature. Minimum flow volumes are a potentially useful proxy for stream temperature, since daily streamflow records are much more common. We confirmed that there is a strong inverse relationship between annual low flows and peak water temperature using observed data from unimpaired streams throughout the montane regions of the United States' west coast. We then used linear models to explore the relationships between snowpack, potential evapotranspiration and other climate-related variables with annual low flow volumes and peak water temperatures. We also incorporated previous years' flow volumes into these models to account for groundwater carryover from year to year. We found that annual peak snowpack water storage is a strong predictor of summer low flows in the more arid watersheds studied. This relationship is mediated by atmospheric water demand and carryover subsurface water storage from previous years, such that multi-year droughts with high evapotranspiration lead to especially low flow volumes. We conclude that watershed management to help retain snow and increase baseflows may help counteract some of the streamflow temperature rises expected from a warming climate, especially in arid watersheds.     

Evaluating the effect of snow and ice melt in an Alpine headwater catchment and further downstream in the River Rhine

Abstract

The runoff regime of glacierized headwater catchments in the Alps is essentially characterized by snow and ice melt. High Alpine drainage basins influence distant downstream catchments of the Rhine River basin. In particular, during the summer months, low-flow conditions are probable with strongly reduced snow and ice melt under climate change conditions. This study attempts to quantify present and future contributions from snow and ice melt to summer runoff at different spatial scales. For the small Silvretta catchment (103 km²) in the Swiss Alps, with a glacierization of 7%, the HBV model and the glacio-hydrological model GERM are applied for calculating future runoff based on different regional climate scenarios. We evaluate the importance of snow and ice melt in the runoff regime. Comparison of the models indicates that the HBV model strongly overestimates the future contribution of glacier melt to runoff, as glaciers are considered as static components. Furthermore, we provide estimates of the current meltwater contribution of glaciers for several catchments downstream on the River Rhine during the month of August. Snow and ice melt processes have a significant direct impact on summer runoff, not only for high mountain catchments, but also for large transboundary basins. A future shift in the hydrological regime and the disappearance of glaciers might favour low-flow conditions during summer along the Rhine.

Citation Junghans, N., Cullmann, J. & Huss, M. (2011) Evaluating the effect of snow and ice melt in an Alpine headwater catchment and further downstream in the River Rhine. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(6), 981–993.     

Developing a large‐scale water‐balance approach to seasonal forecasting: application to the 2012 drought in Britain

Seasonal hydrological forecasts, or outlooks, can potentially provide water managers with estimates of river flows and water resources for a lead time of several months ahead. An experimental modelling tool for national hydrological outlooks has been developed which combines a hydrological model estimate of sub‐surface water storage across Britain with a range of seasonal rainfall forecasts to provide estimates of area‐wide hydrological conditions up to a few months ahead. The link is made between a deficit in sub‐surface water storage and a requirement for additional rainfall over subsequent months to enable sub‐surface water storage and river flow to return to mean monthly values. The new scheme is assessed over a recent period which includes the termination of the drought that affected much of Britain in the first few months of 2012. An illustration is provided of its use to obtain return‐period estimates of the ‘rainfall required’ to ease drought conditions; these are well in excess of 200 years for several regions of the country, for termination within a month of 1 April 2012, and still exceed 40 years for termination within three months. National maps of sub‐surface water storage anomaly show for the first time the current spatial variability of drought severity. They can also be used to provide an indication of how a drought situation might develop in the next few months given a range of possible future rainfall scenarios. © 2013 CEH/Crown and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mediating stream baseflow response to climate change: The role of basin storage

Inter‐basin differences in streamflow response to changes in regional hydroclimatology may reflect variations in storage characteristics that control the retention and release of water inputs. These aspects of storage could mediate a basin's sensitivity to climate change. The hypothesis that temporal trends in stream baseflow exhibit a more muted reaction to changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration for basins with greater storage was tested on the Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM) in Southern Ontario, Canada. Long‐term (>25 years) baseflow trends for 16 basins were compared to corresponding trends in precipitation amount and type and in potential evapotranspiration as well as shorter trends in groundwater levels for monitoring wells on the ORM. Inter‐basin differences in storage properties were characterized using physiographic, hydrogeologic, land use/land cover, and streamflow metrics. The latter included the slope of the basin's flow duration curve and basin dynamic storage. Most basins showed temporal increases in baseflow, consistent with limited evidence of increases and decreases in regional precipitation and snowfall: precipitation ratio, respectively, and recent increases in groundwater recharge along the crest of the ORM. Baseflow trend magnitude was uncorrelated to basin physiographic, hydrogeologic, land use/land cover, or flow duration curve characteristics. However, it was positively related to a basin's dynamic storage, particularly for basins with limited coverage of open water and wetlands. The dynamic storage approach assumes that a basin behaves as a first‐order dynamical system, and extensive open water and wetland areas in a basin may invalidate this assumption. Previous work suggested that smaller dynamic storage was linked to greater damping of temporal variations in water inputs and reduced interannual variability in streamflow regime. Storage and release of water inputs to a basin may assist in mediating baseflow response to temporal changes in regional hydroclimatology and may partly account for inter‐basin differences in that response. Such storage characteristics should be considered when forecasting the impacts of climate change on regional streamflow.     

Modelling the effects of permafrost loss on discharge from a wetland‐dominated,discontinuous permafrost basin

Permafrost degradation in the peat‐rich southern fringe of the discontinuous permafrost zone is catalysing substantial changes to land cover with expansion of permafrost‐free wetlands (bogs and fens) and shrinkage of forest‐dominated permafrost peat plateaux. Predicting discharge from headwater basins in this region depends upon understanding and numerically representing the interactions between storage and discharge within and between the major land cover types and how these interactions are changing. To better understand the implications of advanced permafrost thaw‐induced land cover change on wetland discharge, with all landscape features capable of contributing to drainage networks, the hydrological behaviour of a channel fen sub‐basin in the headwaters of Scotty Creek, Northwest Territories, Canada, dominated by peat plateau–bog complexes, was modelled using the Cold Regions Hydrological Modelling platform for the period of 2009 to 2015. The model construction was based on field water balance observations, and performance was deemed adequate when evaluated against measured water balance components. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the impact of progressive permafrost loss on discharge from the sub‐basin, in which all units of the sub‐basin have the potential to contribute to the drainage network, by incrementally reducing the ratio of wetland to plateau in the modelled sub‐basin. Simulated reductions in permafrost extent decreased total annual discharge from the channel fen by 2.5% for every 10% decrease in permafrost area due to increased surface storage capacity, reduced run‐off efficiency, and increased landscape evapotranspiration. Runoff ratios for the fen hydrological response unit dropped from 0.54 to 0.48 after the simulated 50% permafrost area loss with a substantial reduction of 0.47 to 0.31 during the snowmelt season. The reduction in peat plateau area resulted in decreased seasonal variability in discharge due to changes in the flow path routing, with amplified low flows associated with small increases in subsurface discharge, and decreased peak discharge with large reductions in surface run‐off.     

Seasonality of low flows and dominant processes in the Rhine River

Low flow forecasting is crucial for sustainable cooling water supply and planning of river navigation in the Rhine River. The first step in reliable low flow forecasting is to understand the characteristics of low flow. In this study, several methods are applied to understand the low flow characteristics of Rhine River basin. In 108 catchments of the Rhine River, winter and summer low flow regions are determined with the seasonality ratio (SR) index. To understand whether different numbers of processes are acting in generating different low flow regimes in seven major sub-basins (namely, East Alpine, West Alpine, Middle Rhine, Neckar, Main, Mosel and Lower Rhine) aggregated from the 108 catchments, the dominant variable concept is adopted from chaos theory. The number of dominant processes within the seven major sub-basins is determined with the correlation dimension analysis. Results of the correlation dimension analysis show that the minimum and maximum required number of variables to represent the low flow dynamics of the seven major sub-basins, except the Middle Rhine and Mosel, is 4 and 9, respectively. For the Mosel and Middle Rhine, the required minimum number of variables is 2 and 6, and the maximum number of variables is 5 and 13, respectively. These results show that the low flow processes of the major sub-basins of the Rhine could be considered as non-stochastic or chaotic processes. To confirm this conclusion, the rescaled range analysis is applied to verify persistency (i.e. non-randomness) in the processes. The estimated rescaled range statistics (i.e. Hurst exponents) are all above 0.5, indicating that persistent long-term memory characteristics exist in the runoff processes. Finally, the mean values of SR indices are compared with the nonlinear analyses results to find significant relationships. The results show that the minimum and maximum numbers of required variables (i.e. processes) to model the dynamic characteristics for five out of the seven major sub-basins are the same, but the observed low flow regimes are different (winter low flow regime and summer low flow regime). These results support the conclusion that a few interrelated nonlinear variables could yield completely different behaviour (i.e. dominant low flow regime).     

Projecting climate change impacts on stream flow regimes with tracer‐aided runoff models ‐ preliminary assessment of heterogeneity at the mesoscale

The northern mid‐high latitudes form a region that is sensitive to climate change, and many areas already have seen – or are projected to see – marked changes in hydroclimatic drivers on catchment hydrological function. In this paper, we use tracer‐aided conceptual runoff models to investigate such impacts in a mesoscale (749 km²) catchment in northern Scotland. The catchment encompasses both sub‐arctic montane sub‐catchments with high precipitation and significant snow influence and drier, warmer lowland sub‐catchments. We used downscaled HadCM3 General Circulation Model outputs through the UKCP09 stochastic weather generator to project the future climate. This was based on synthetic precipitation and temperature time series generated from three climate change scenarios under low, medium and high greenhouse gas emissions. Within an uncertainty framework, we examined the impact of climate change at the monthly, seasonal and annual scales and projected impacts on flow regimes in upland and lowland sub‐catchments using hydrological models with appropriate process conceptualization for each landscape unit. The results reveal landscape‐specific sensitivity to climate change. In the uplands, higher temperatures result in diminishing snow influence which increases winter flows, with a concomitant decline in spring flows as melt reduces. In the lowlands, increases in air temperatures and re‐distribution of precipitation towards autumn and winter lead to strongly reduced summer flows despite increasing annual precipitation. The integration at the catchment outlet moderates these seasonal extremes expected in the headwaters. This highlights the intimate connection between hydrological dynamics and catchment characteristics which reflect landscape evolution. It also indicates that spatial variability of changes in climatic forcing combined with differential landscape sensitivity in large heterogeneous catchments can lead to higher resilience of the integrated runoff response. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climate change effects on hydrological system conditions influencing generation of storm runoff in small Alpine catchments

Floods and debris flows in small Alpine torrent catchments (<10 km²) arise from a combination of critical antecedent system state conditions and mostly convective precipitation events with high precipitation intensities. Thus, climate change may influence the magnitude–frequency relationship of extreme events twofold: by a modification of the occurrence probabilities of critical hydrological system conditions and by a change of event precipitation characteristics. Three small Alpine catchments in different altitudes in Western Austria (Ruggbach, Brixenbach and Längentalbach catchment) were investigated by both field experiments and process‐based simulation. Rainfall–runoff model (HQsim) runs driven by localized climate scenarios (CNRM‐RM4.5/ARPEGE, MPI‐REMO/ECHAM5 and ICTP‐RegCM3/ECHAM5) were used in order to estimate future frequencies of stormflow triggering system state conditions. According to the differing altitudes of the study catchments, two effects of climate change on the hydrological systems can be observed. On one hand, the seasonal system state conditions of medium altitude catchments are most strongly affected by air temperature‐controlled processes such as the development of the winter snow cover as well as evapotranspiration. On the other hand, the unglaciated high‐altitude catchment is less sensitive to climate change‐induced shifts regarding days with critical antecedent soil moisture and desiccated litter layer due to its elevation‐related small proportion of sensitive areas. For the period 2071–2100, the number of days with critical antecedent soil moisture content will be significantly reduced to about 60% or even less in summer in all catchments. In contrast, the number of days with dried‐out litter layers causing hydrophobic effects will increase by up to 8%–11% of the days in the two lower altitude catchments. The intensity analyses of heavy precipitation events indicate a clear increase in rain intensities of up to 10%.     

Macroscale hydrological modelling approach for study of large scale hydrologic impacts under climate change in Indian river basins

In climate‐change studies, a macroscale hydrologic model (MHM) operating over large scales can be an important tool in developing consistent hydrological variability estimates over large basins. MHMs, which can operate at coarse grid resolutions of about 1° latitude by longitude, have been used previously to study climate change impacts on the hydrology of continental scale or global river basins. They can provide a connection between global atmospheric models and water resource systems on large spatial scales and long timescales. In this study, the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) MHM is used to study large scale hydrologic impacts of climate change for Indian river basins. Large‐scale changes in runoff, evapotranspiration and soil moisture for India, as well as station‐scale changes in discharges for three major river basins with distinct climatic and geographic characteristics are examined in this study. Climate model projections for meteorological variables (precipitation, temperature and wind speed) from three general circulation models (GCMs) and three emissions scenarios are used to drive the VIC MHM. GCM projections are first interpolated to a 1° by 1° hydrologic model grid and then bias‐corrected using a quantile–quantile mapping. The VIC model is able to reproduce observed statistics for discharges in the Ganga, Narmada and Krishna basins reasonably well, even at the coarse grid resolution employed using a calibration period for years 1965–1970 and testing period from 1971–1973/1974. An increasing trend is projected for summer monsoon surface runoff, evapotranspiration and soil moisture in most central Indian river basins, whereas a decrease in runoff and soil moisture is projected for some regions in southern India, with important differences arising from GCM and scenario variability. Discharge statistics show increases in mid‐flow and low flow at Farakka station on Ganga River, increased high flows at Jamtara station upstream of Narmada, and increased high, mid‐flow and low flow for Vijayawada station on Krishna River in the future. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A temperature‐precipitation‐based model of thirty‐year mean snowpack accumulation and melt in Oregon,USA

High‐resolution, spatially extensive climate grids can be useful in regional hydrologic applications. However, in regions where precipitation is dominated by snow, snowmelt models are often used to account for timing and magnitude of water delivery. We developed an empirical, nonlinear model to estimate 30‐year means of monthly snowpack and snowmelt throughout Oregon. Precipitation and temperature for the period 1971–2000, derived from 400‐m resolution PRISM data, and potential evapotranspiration (estimated from temperature and day length) drive the model. The model was calibrated using mean monthly data from 45 SNOTEL sites and accurately estimated snowpack at 25 validation sites: R² = 0·76, Nash‐Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) = 0·80. Calibrating it with data from all 70 SNOTEL sites gave somewhat better results (R² = 0·84, NSE = 0·85). We separately applied the model to SNOTEL stations located < 200 and ≥ 200 km from the Oregon coast, since they have different climatic conditions. The model performed equally well for both areas. We used the model to modify moisture surplus (precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration) to account for snowpack accumulation and snowmelt. The resulting values accurately reflect the shape and magnitude of runoff at a snow‐dominated basin, with low winter values and a June peak. Our findings suggest that the model is robust with respect to different climatic conditions, and that it can be used to estimate potential runoff in snow‐dominated basins. The model may allow high‐resolution, regional hydrologic comparisons to be made across basins that are differentially affected by snowpack, and may prove useful for investigating regional hydrologic response to climate change. Published in 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Snowpack variability across various spatio‐temporal resolutions

High‐resolution snow depth (SD) maps (1 × 1 m) obtained from terrestrial laser scanner measurements in a small catchment (0.55 km²) in the Pyrenees were used to assess small‐scale variability of the snowpack at the catchment and sub‐grid scales. The coefficients of variation are compared for various plot resolutions (5 × 5, 25 × 25, 49 × 49, and 99 × 99 m) and eight different days in two snow seasons (2011–2012 and 2012–2013). We also studied the relation between snow variability at the small scale and SD, topographic variables, small‐scale variability in topographic variables. The results showed that there was marked variability in SD, and it increased with increasing scales. Days of seasonal maximum snow accumulation showed the least small‐scale variability, but this increased sharply with the onset of melting. The coefficient of variation (CV) in snowpack depth showed statistically significant consistency amongst the various spatial resolutions studied, although it declined progressively with increasing difference between the grid sizes being compared. SD best explained the spatial distribution of sub‐grid variability. Topographic variables including slope, wind sheltering, sub‐grid variability in elevation, and potential incoming solar radiation were also significantly correlated with the CV of the snowpack, with the greatest correlation occurring at the 99 × 99 m resolution. At this resolution, stepwise multiple regression models explained more than 70% of the variance, whereas at the 25 × 25 m resolution they explained slightly more than 50%. The results highlight the importance of considering small‐scale variability of the SD for comprehensively representing the distribution of snowpack from available punctual information, and the potential for using SD and other predictors to design optimized surveys for acquiring distributed SD data. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climate variability,snow, and physiographic controls on storm hydrographs in small forested basins,western Cascades,Oregon

Large floods are often attributed to the melting of snow during a rain event. This study tested how climate variability, snowpack presence, and basin physiography were related to storm hydrograph shape in three small (<1 km²) basins with old‐growth forest in western Oregon. Relationships between hydrograph characteristics and precipitation were tested for approximately 800 storms over a nearly 30‐year period. Analyses controlled for (1) snowpack presence/absence, (2) antecedent soil moisture, and (3) hillslope length and gradient. For small storms (<150 mm precipitation), controlling for precipitation, the presence of a snowpack on near‐saturated soil increased the threshold of precipitation before hydrograph rise, extended the start lag, centroid lag, and duration of storm hydrographs, and increased the peak discharge. The presence of a snowpack on near‐saturated soil sped up and steepened storm hydrographs in a basin with short steep slopes, but delayed storm hydrographs in basins with longer or more gentle slopes. Hydrographs of the largest events, which were extreme regional rain and rain‐on‐snow floods, were not sensitive to landform characteristics or snowpack presence/absence. Although the presence of a snowpack did not increase peak discharge in small, forested basins during large storms, it had contrasting effects on storm timing in small basins, potentially synchronizing small basin contributions to the larger basin hydrograph during large rain‐on‐snow events. By altering the relative timing of hydrographs, snowpack melting could produce extreme floods from precipitation events whose size is not extreme. Further work is needed to examine effects of canopy openings, snowpack, and climate warming on extreme rain‐on‐snow floods at the large basin scale. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Snow accumulation distribution inferred from time‐lapse photography and simple modelling

The spatial and temporal distribution of snow accumulation is complex and significantly influences the hydrological characteristics of mountain catchments. Many snow redistribution processes, such as avalanching, slushflow or wind drift, are controlled by topography, but their modelling remains challenging. In situ measurements of snow accumulation are laborious and generally have a coarse spatial or temporal resolution. In this respect, time‐lapse photography shows itself as a powerful tool for collecting information at relatively low cost and without the need for direct field access. In this paper, the snow accumulation distribution of an Alpine catchment is inferred by adjusting a simple snow accumulation model combined with a temperature index melt model to match the modelled melt‐out pattern evolution to the pattern monitored during an ablation season through terrestrial oblique photography. The comparison of the resulting end‐of‐winter snow water equivalent distribution with direct measurements shows that the achieved accuracy is comparable with that obtained with an inverse distance interpolation of the point measurements. On average over the ablation season, the observed melt‐out pattern can be reproduced correctly in 93% of the area visible from the fixed camera. The relations between inferred snow accumulation distribution and topographic variables indicate large scatter. However, a significant correlation with local slope is found and terrain curvature is detected as a factor limiting the maximal snow accumulation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamics of snow ablation in a small Alpine catchment observed by repeated terrestrial laser scans

The spatio‐temporal distribution of snow in a catchment during ablation reflects changes in the total amount of snow water equivalent and is thus a key parameter for the estimation of melt water run‐off. This study explores possible rules behind the spatial variability of snow depth during the ablation season in a small Alpine catchment with complex topography. The snow depth observations are based on more than 160 000 terrestrial laser scanner data points with a spatial resolution of 1 m, which were obtained from 11 scanning campaigns of two consecutive ablation seasons. The analysis suggests that for estimating cumulative snow melt dynamics from the catchment investigated, assessing the initial snow distribution prior to the melt season is more important than addressing spatial differences in the melt behaviour. Snow volume and snow‐covered area could be predicted well using a conceptual melt model assuming spatially uniform melt rates. However, accurate results were only obtained if the model was initialized with a pre‐melt snow distribution that reflected measured mean and standard deviation. Using stratified melt rates on the other hand did not improve the model results. At least for sites with similar meteorological and topographical conditions, the model approach presented here comprises an efficient way to estimate snow depletion dynamics, especially if persistent snow accumulation pattern between years facilitate the characterization of the initial snow distribution prior to the melt. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrologic and water isotope characterization of a regulated Canadian Shield river basin

Stable water isotope surveys have increasingly been integrated into river basins studies, but fewer have used them to evaluate impact of hydropower regulation. This study applies hydrologic and water isotope survey approaches to a Canadian Shield river basin with both regulated and natural flows. Historical streamflow records were used to evaluate the influence of three hydroelectric reservoirs and unregulated portions of the basin on downstream flows and changes in water level management implemented after an extreme flood year (1979). In 2013, water isotope surveys of surface and source waters (e.g., rainfall, groundwater, snowmelt) were conducted to examine spatial and temporal variation in contributions to river flow. Seasonal changes in relative groundwater contribution were assessed using a water‐isotope mass balance approach. Within the basin, two regulated reservoirs exhibited inverted hydrographs with augmented winter flows, whereas a third exhibited a hydrograph dominated by spring snowmelt. In 2013, spatial variation in rain‐on‐snow and air temperatures resulted in a critical lag in snowmelt initiation in the southern and northern portions of the basin resulting in a dispersed, double peak spring hydrograph, contrasting with 1979 when a combination of rain‐on‐snow and coincident snowmelt led to the highest flood on record. Although eastern basin reservoirs become seasonally enriched in δ¹⁸O and δ²H values, unregulated western basin flows remain less variable due to groundwater driven baseflow with increasing influence downstream. Combined analysis of historical streamflow (e.g., flood of 1979, drought of 2010) and the 2013 water isotope surveys illustrate extreme meteorological conditions that current management activities are unable to prevent. In this study, the influence of evaporative fractionation on large surface water reservoirs provides important evidence of streamflow partitioning, illustrating the value of stable water isotope tracers for study of larger catchments.     

Hydrologic impact of regional climate change for the snowfed and glacierfed river basins in the Republic of Tajikistan: hydrological response of flow to climate change

The warming of the Earth's atmosphere system is likely to change temperature and precipitation, which may affect the climate, hydrology and water resources at the river basins over the world. The importance of temperature change becomes even greater in snow or glacier dominated basins where it controls the snowmelt processes during the late‐winter, spring and summer months. In this study hydrologic responses of streamflow in the Pyanj and Vaksh River basins to climate change are analysed with a watershed hydrology model, based on the downscaled atmospheric data as input, in order to assess the regional climate change impact for the snowfed and glacierfed river basins in the Republic of Tajikistan. As a result of this analysis, it was found that the annual mean river discharge is increasing in the future at snow and glacier dominated areas due to the air temperature increase and the consequent increase in snow/ice melt rates until about 2060. Then the annual mean flow discharge starts to decrease from about 2080 onward because the small glaciers start to disappear in the glacier areas. It was also found that there is a gradual change in the hydrologic flow regime throughout a year, with the high flows occuring earlier in the hydrologic year, due to the warmer climate in the future. Furthermore, significant increases in annual maximum daily flows, including the 100‐year return period flows, at the Pyanj and Vaksh River basins toward the end of the 21st century can be inferred from flood frequency analysis results. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Processes and rates of sediment and wood accumulation in headwater streams of the Oregon Coast Range,USA

Channels that have been scoured to bedrock by debris flows provide unique opportunities to calculate the rate of sediment and wood accumulation in low‐order streams, to understand the temporal succession of channel morphology following disturbance, and to make inferences about processes associated with input and transport of sediment. Dendrochronology was used to estimate the time since the previous debris flow and the time since the last stand‐replacement fire in unlogged basins in the central Coast Range of Oregon. Debris flow activity increased 42 per cent above the background rate in the decades immediately following the last wildfire. Changes in wood and sediment storage were quantified for 13 streams that ranged from 4 to 144 years since the previous debris flow. The volume of wood and sediment in the channel, and the length of channel with exposed bedrock, were strongly correlated with the time since the previous debris flow. Wood increased the storage capacity of the channel and trapped the majority of the sediment in these steep headwater streams. In the absence of wood, channels that have been scoured to bedrock by a debris flow may lack the capacity to store sediment and could persist in a bedrock state for an extended period of time. With an adequate supply of wood, low‐order channels have the potential of storing large volumes of sediment in the interval between debris flows and can function as one of the dominant storage reservoirs for sediment in mountainous terrain. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.