Thresholds of hydrologic flow regime of a river and investigation of climate change impact—the case of the Lower Brahmaputra river Basin

The sustainability of social-ecological systems depends on river flows being maintained within a range to which those systems are adapted. In order to determine the extent of this natural range of variation, we assess ecological flow thresholds and the occurrence of potentially damaging flood events to society in the context of the Lower Brahmaputra river basin. The ecological flow threshold was calculated using twenty-two ‘Range of Variability (RVA)’ parameters, considering the range between?±?1 standard deviation from the mean of the natural flow. Damaging flood events were calculated using flood frequency analysis of Annual Maxima series and using the flood classification of Bangladesh. The climate change impacts on future river flow were calculated by using a weighted ensemble analysis of twelve global circulation models (GCMs) outputs driving a large-scale hydrologic model. The simulated climate change induced altered flow regime of the Lower Brahmaputra River Basin was then investigated and compared with the calculated threshold flows. The results demonstrate that various parameters including the monthly mean of low flow (January, February and March) and high flow (June, July and August) periods, the 7-day average minimum flow, and the yearly maximum flow will exceed the threshold conditions by 1956–1995 under the business-as-usual A1B and A2 future scenarios. The results have a number of policy level implications for government agencies of the Lower Brahmaputra River Basin, specifically for Bangladesh. The calculated thresholds may be used as a good basis for negotiations with other riparian countries of the basin. The methodological approach presented in this study can be applied to other river basins and provide a useful basis for transboundary water resources management.     

Cause-effect relationships between sea surface temperature, precipitation and sea level along the Bangladesh coast

Summary  The Bangladesh coast, which lies on the confluence of three mighty rivers, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna, with the Himalayas to the north and the Bay of Bengal to the south, is an ideal zone for sea level rise due to enhanced rainfall during the monsoon season from June to September. An attempt has been made here to look into the cause-effect relationships between observed trends in sea surface temperature (SST) over the Bay of Bengal and the trends in monsoon rains and sea level in Bangladesh. The study utilizes the 14-year satellite-derived SSTs over the Bay of Bengal for 1985–1998, the tide gauge stations data along the Bangladesh coast for 1977–1998 and the 31-year monsoon rainfall data for Bangladesh, 1961–1991. Received October 20, 2000     

Multi-factor impact analysis of agricultural production in Bangladesh with climate change

Diverse vulnerabilities of Bangladesh's agricultural sector in 16 sub-regions are assessed using experiments designed to investigate climate impact factors in isolation and in combination. Climate information from a suite of global climate models (GCMs) is used to drive models assessing the agricultural impact of changes in temperature, precipitation, carbon dioxide concentrations, river floods, and sea level rise for the 2040–2069 period in comparison to a historical baseline. Using the multi-factor impacts analysis framework developed in Yu et al. (2010), this study provides new sub-regional vulnerability analyses and quantifies key uncertainties in climate and production. Rice (aman, boro, and aus seasons) and wheat production are simulated in each sub-region using the biophysical Crop Environment REsource Synthesis (CERES) models. These simulations are then combined with the MIKE BASIN hydrologic model for river floods in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Basins, and the MIKE21 Two-Dimensional Estuary Model to determine coastal inundation under conditions of higher mean sea level. The impacts of each factor depend on GCM configurations, emissions pathways, sub-regions, and particular seasons and crops. Temperature increases generally reduce production across all scenarios. Precipitation changes can have either a positive or a negative impact, with a high degree of uncertainty across GCMs. Carbon dioxide impacts on crop production are positive and depend on the emissions pathway. Increasing river flood areas reduce production in affected sub-regions. Precipitation uncertainties from different GCMs and emissions scenarios are reduced when integrated across the large GBM Basins’ hydrology. Agriculture in Southern Bangladesh is severely affected by sea level rise even when cyclonic surges are not fully considered, with impacts increasing under the higher emissions scenario.     

High resolution modeling of the regional impacts of climate change on irrigation water demand

In the Arkansas River Basin in southeastern Colorado, surface irrigation provides most of the water required for agriculture. Consequently, the region’s future could be significantly affected if climate change impacts the amount of water available for irrigation. A methodology to model the expected impacts of climate change on irrigation water demand in the region is described. The Integrated Decision Support Consumptive Use model, which accounts for spatial and temporal variability in evapotranspiration and precipitation, is used in conjunction with two climate scenarios from the Vegetation-Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project. The two scenarios were extracted and scaled down from two general circulation models (GCMs), the HAD from the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research and the CCC from the Canadian Climate Centre. The results show significant changes in the water demands of crops due to climate change. The HAD and CCC climate change scenarios both predict an increase in water demand. However, the projections of the two GCMs concerning the water available for irrigation differ significantly, reflecting the large degree of uncertainty concerning what the future impacts of climate change might be in the study region. As new or updated predictions become available, the methodology described here can be used to estimate the impacts of climate change.     

Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change on Inflows to Perth, Australia

The effects of climate change due to increasing atmospheric CO₂ onthe major tributaries to the Swan River (Perth, Western Australia) have been investigated. The climate scenarios are based on results from General Circulation Models (GCMs) and 1000 year time series are produced using a stochastic weather generator. The hydrological implications of these scenarios are then examined using a conceptual rainfall-runoff model, CMD-IHACRES, to model the response of six catchments, which combine to represent almost 90% of the total flow entering the upper Swan River,and hence the Perth city urban area. The changes in streamflow varies considerably between catchments, exhibiting a strong dependence on the physical attributes of the catchment in question. The increase in the magnitudes of rare flood events despite significant decreases in mean streamflow levels found in some catchments emphasizes the importance of estimating changes in the nature of the precipitation (variance, length of storm and interstorm periods), along with changes in the mean, in climate change scenarios.     

Water Resources Implications of Global Warming: A U.S. Regional Perspective

The implications of global warming for the performance of six U.S. water resource systems are evaluated. The six case study sites represent a range of geographic and hydrologic, as well as institutional and social settings. Large, multi-reservoir systems (Columbia River, Missouri River, Apalachicola-Chatahoochee-Flint (ACF) Rivers), small, one or two reservoir systems (Tacoma and Boston) and medium size systems (Savannah River) are represented. The river basins range from mountainous to low relief and semi-humid to semi-arid, and the system operational purposes range from predominantly municipal to broadly multi-purpose. The studies inferred, using a chain of climate downscaling, hydrologic and water resources systems models, the sensitivity of six water resources systems to changes in precipitation, temperature and solar radiation. The climate change scenarios used in this study are based on results from transient climate change experiments performed with coupled ocean-atmosphere General Circulation Models (GCMs) for the 1995 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment. An earlier doubled-CO₂ scenario from one of the GCMs was also used in the evaluation. The GCM scenarios were transferred to the local level using a simple downscaling approach that scales local weather variables by fixed monthly ratios (for precipitation) and fixed monthly shifts (for temperature). For those river basins where snow plays an important role in the current climate hydrology (Tacoma, Columbia, Missouri and, to a lesser extent, Boston) changes in temperature result in important changes in seasonal streamflow hydrographs. In these systems, spring snowmelt peaks are reduced and winter flows increase, on average. Changes in precipitation are generally reflected in the annual total runoff volumes more than in the seasonal shape of the hydrographs. In the Savannah and ACF systems, where snow plays a minor hydrological role, changes in hydrological response are linked more directly to temperature and precipitation changes. Effects on system performance varied from system to system, from GCM to GCM, and for each system operating objective (such as hydropower production, municipal and industrial supply, flood control, recreation, navigation and instream flow protection). Effects were generally smaller for the transient scenarios than for the doubled CO₂ scenario. In terms of streamflow, one of the transient scenarios tended to have increases at most sites, while another tended to have decreases at most sites. The third showed no general consistency over the six sites. Generally, the water resource system performance effects were determined by the hydrologic changes and the amount of buffering provided by the system's storage capacity. The effects of demand growth and other plausible future operational considerations were evaluated as well. For most sites, the effects of these non-climatic effects on future system performance would about equal or exceed the effects of climate change over system planning horizons.     

全球1.5℃和2.0℃升温下潮白河流域气候和径流量变化预估

潮白河流域为北京主要供水源,其水资源量对北京用水保障至关重要,因此开展该流域在全球1.5℃和2.0℃升温下的径流预估研究具有现实意义。利用1961—2001年WATCH数据对SWAT水文模型进行率定和验证,在此基础上,应用第五次耦合模式比较计划(CMIP5)中5个全球气候模式在典型浓度路径(RCP4.5、RCP6.0和RCP8.5)下预估的全球1.5℃和2.0℃升温下的数据驱动SWAT模型,开展了潮白河流域气温、降水及径流量的变化预估研究,并量化评估由气候模式和RCPs导致的水文效应的不确定性。结果表明：(1) SWAT模型基本能较好地模拟潮白河流域的月径流特征,应用该模型进行气候变化对径流量的影响评估是可行的。(2)在全球1.5℃和2.0℃升温下,潮白河流域年平均温度较基准期(1976—2005年)分别增加1.5℃和2.2℃,年平均降水量也增加4.9%和7.0%。预估的年径流量在全球1.5℃升温下总体略有增加,盛夏和秋初的径流量占全年的比例也有所增加;在全球2.0℃升温下,年径流量增幅达30%以上,但夏季径流量占全年的比例明显减少。(3)在全球2.0℃升温下,潮白河流域极端丰水流量明显增加,洪涝发生风险增大。(4)未来气温、降水量和径流量的预估都存在一定的不确定性,在全球2.0℃升温下不确定性更大;相对而言,径流量的不确定性要远大于降水量的不确定性;无论是全球1.5℃升温下还是2.0℃升温下,预估不确定性主要来源于全球气候模式。     

Assessing climate change impacts on hydrology from an ensemble of regional climate models,model scales and linking methods – a case study on the Lule River basin

This paper investigates how using different regional climate model (RCM) simulations affects climate change impacts on hydrology in northern Europe using an offline hydrological model. Climate change scenarios from an ensemble of seven RCMs, two global climate models (GCMs), two global emissions scenarios and two RCMs of varying resolution were used. A total of 15 climate change simulations were included in studies on the Lule River basin in Northern Sweden. Two different approaches to transfer climate change from the RCMs to hydrological models were tested. A rudimentary estimate of change in hydropower potential on the Lule River due to climate change was also made. The results indicate an overall increase in river flow, earlier spring peak flows and an increase in hydropower potential. The two approaches for transferring the signal of climate change to the hydrological impacts model gave similar mean results, but considerably different seasonal dynamics, a result that is highly relevant for other types of climate change impacts studies.     

黄河流域旱涝物理成因模拟与分析

本文分析了近500年黄河流域旱涝的演变特征，并且利用几个较著名的全球三维环流模式的模拟结果分析了各种物理因子对华北地区旱涝影响的大小，同时利用观测资料亦分析了这些物理因子与黄河流域旱涝的相关。     

Multi-criteria evaluation of CMIP5 GCMs for climate change impact analysis

Climate change is expected to have severe impacts on global hydrological cycle along with food-water-energy nexus. Currently, there are many climate models used in predicting important climatic variables. Though there have been advances in the field, there are still many problems to be resolved related to reliability, uncertainty, and computing needs, among many others. In the present work, we have analyzed performance of 20 different global climate models (GCMs) from Climate Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) dataset over the Columbia River Basin (CRB) in the Pacific Northwest USA. We demonstrate a statistical multicriteria approach, using univariate and multivariate techniques, for selecting suitable GCMs to be used for climate change impact analysis in the region. Univariate methods includes mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, relative change (variability), Mann-Kendall test, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (KS-test); whereas multivariate methods used were principal component analysis (PCA), singular value decomposition (SVD), canonical correlation analysis (CCA), and cluster analysis. The analysis is performed on raw GCM data, i.e., before bias correction, for precipitation and temperature climatic variables for all the 20 models to capture the reliability and nature of the particular model at regional scale. The analysis is based on spatially averaged datasets of GCMs and observation for the period of 1970 to 2000. Ranking is provided to each of the GCMs based on the performance evaluated against gridded observational data on various temporal scales (daily, monthly, and seasonal). Results have provided insight into each of the methods and various statistical properties addressed by them employed in ranking GCMs. Further; evaluation was also performed for raw GCM simulations against different sets of gridded observational dataset in the area.     

Development and Application of an Atmospheric-Hydrologic-Hydraulic Flood Forecasting Model Driven by TIGGE Ensemble Forecasts

A coupled atmospheric-hydrologic-hydraulic ensemble flood forecasting model,driven by The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Interactive Grand Global Ensemble (TIGGE) dat...     

Comparison of uncertainty sources for climate change impacts: flood frequency in England

This paper investigates the uncertainty in the impact of climate change on flood frequency in England, through the use of continuous simulation of river flows. Six different sources of uncertainty are discussed: future greenhouse gas emissions; Global Climate Model (GCM) structure; downscaling from GCMs (including Regional Climate Model structure); hydrological model structure; hydrological model parameters and the internal variability of the climate system (sampled by applying different GCM initial conditions). These sources of uncertainty are demonstrated (separately) for two example catchments in England, by propagation through to flood frequency impact. The results suggest that uncertainty from GCM structure is by far the largest source of uncertainty. However, this is due to the extremely large increases in winter rainfall predicted by one of the five GCMs used. Other sources of uncertainty become more significant if the results from this GCM are omitted, although uncertainty from sources relating to modelling of the future climate is generally still larger than that relating to emissions or hydrological modelling. It is also shown that understanding current and future natural variability is critical in assessing the importance of climate change impacts on hydrology.     

气候变化和水的最新科学认知

政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）于2008年4月8日正式通过了"气候变化和水"技术报告。该报告建立在IPCC 3个工作组第四次评估报告的基础上,客观、全面而审慎地评估了与水有关的气候变化以及对水的过去、现在和未来的认知。最重要的进展是：过去几十年观测到全球变暖已经与大尺度水文循环的大规模变化联系在一起;气候模型对21世纪的模拟结果一致显示出降水在高纬和部分热带地区将增加,而在部分亚热带和中低纬地区将减少的结果;预计到21世纪中期,河流年平均径流和水量可能会因为高纬和部分湿润热带地区的气候变化而增加,而在中低纬和干旱热带将可能减少;许多地方降水强度和变率的增加将使洪旱危险性上升;预计冰雪储藏的水的补给将在本世纪减少;预计较高的水温和极端变化,包括洪旱等,将影响水质并加剧水污染;对全球而言,气候变化对淡水系统负面影响将超过收益;预计由于气候变化导致的水量-水质变化将影响食物的产量、稳定性、流通和利用;气候变化影响现有水的基础设施的功能和运行,包括水电、防洪、排水、灌溉系统,同时影响到水的管理;目前的水管理措施不足以应对气候变化的影响;气候变化挑战"过去水文上的经验能得到未来的情况"的传统说法;为保障平水和干旱情况所设计的适应选择,必须综合需水和供水双方的战略;减缓措施可以降低升温对全球水资源的影响程度,进而减低适应的需求;水资源管理明显地影响到很多其他政策领域。     

Variability and alterations of water temperatures across the Elbe and Danube River Basins

Climate change is predicted to be a major threat to river ecosystems in the 21st century, but long-term records of water temperature in streams and rivers are rare. This study uses long-term water temperature series from the Elbe and the Danube River Basin to quantify the variability, magnitude, and extent of temperature alterations at different time scales. The observed patterns in monthly and daily water temperatures have been successfully described through statistical models based on air temperature, river discharge and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index. These models reveal that air temperature variability describes more than 80 % of the total water-temperature variability, linking anticipated changes in water temperature mainly to those in air temperature. The North Atlantic Oscillation effect deteriorates with decreasing latitude, while the discharge effect becomes more important and increases with the increase in discharge amount. The detected water temperature alterations include a phase shift in spring warming of almost 2 weeks, an increase in the number of days with temperatures above 25 °C and an increase in the duration of summer heat stress. These findings underline a significant risk for fundamental changes in river ecosystems, specifically in disruption of established patterns in food-web synchrony, and may lead to significant distortions in community structure and composition.     

气候变化对淮河蒙洼蓄滞洪区启用风险影响评估

基于RCP情景下47个IPCC CMIP5气候模式模拟数据和大尺度水文模型VIC,预估了未来（2021-2050年）气候变化对淮河蒙洼蓄滞洪区启用的可能影响。结果表明：与基准期（1971-2000年）相比,多模式预估淮河上游未来多年平均气温一致呈增加趋势,平均增幅范围0.2～1.7℃。不同模式对降水预估差异较大,但有超过70%的模式预估降水呈增加趋势,平均增幅为3.4%～4.1%。未来气候情景下,王家坝断面洪水总体呈增加趋势,20年一遇的洪水强度平均增幅19%,洪水频率将增大,蒙洼蓄滞洪区启用可能更加频繁,启用的风险加大。     

Effect of climate change on watershed system: a regional analysis

Climate-induced increase in surface temperatures can impact hydrologic processes of a watershed system. This study uses a continuous simulation model to evaluate potential implications of increasing temperature on water quantity and quality at a regional scale in the Connecticut River Watershed of New England. The increase in temperature was modeled using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) high and low warming scenarios to incorporate the range of possible temperature change. It was predicted that climate change can have a significant affects on streamflow, sediment loading, and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) loading in a watershed. Climate change also influences the timing and magnitude of runoff and sediment yield. Changes in variability of flows and pollutant loading that are induced by climate change have important implications on water supplies, water quality, and aquatic ecosystems of a watershed. Potential impacts of these changes include deficit supplies during peak seasons of water demand, increased eutrophication potential, and impacts on fish migration.     

基于FloodArea模型的一次特大暴雨洪涝淹没模拟

利用蒲河流域内所有国家气象站以及区域自动气象站共28站逐小时降水实况、过程降水量、数字高程模型、土地利用、土壤类型等资料,采用FloodArea水动力模型,对2020年6月19日21时-22日20时出现的历史罕见暴雨洪涝过程进行洪水淹没模拟及效果检验。模拟结果表明：1)全过程模拟水位与实测水位整体拟合度较高,确定性系数DC达93.22%;2)蒲河上游来水较小,持续性强降水是造成此次洪涝水位偏高的主要原因,模拟显示蒲河流域中上游水位上涨明显,其中石角水文站模拟的最大上涨水位达7.61米,与实测上涨水位7.14米较为一致;3)FloodArea水动力模型能够较准确地反演出蒲河流域暴雨致洪个例的淹没进程,能够直观地反映出淹没范围、淹没深度的空间差异,且淹没深度与逐小时实测水位的确定性系数较高,淹没深度的突增对洪峰的预报预警具有一定的指示意义。     

Impact of climate change on irrigation water demand of dry season Boro rice in northwest Bangladesh

Climate change will affect irrigation water demand of rice via changes in rice physiology and phenology, soil water balances, evapotranspiration and effective precipitation. As agriculture is the main sector of water use in Bangladesh, estimation of the agricultural water demand in the changing environment is essential for long-term water resources development and planning. In the present paper, a study has been carried out to estimate the change of irrigation water demand in dry-season Boro rice field in northwest Bangladesh in the context of global climate change. The study shows that there will be no appreciable changes in total irrigation water requirement due to climate change. However, there will be an increase in daily use of water for irrigation. As groundwater is the main source of irrigation in northwest Bangladesh, higher daily pumping rate in dry season may aggravate the situation of groundwater scarcity in the region.     

基于哨兵1号的洪水淹没面积监测

准确及时得到洪水淹没区域及淹没面积,对于抗洪救灾有着重要意义。洪涝灾害时基本为阴雨天,光学遥感无法监测到洪水淹没有效区域,使时效性和准确性下降,利用星载合成孔径雷达(SAR)则不受云雨影响、可全天候观测,及时获得下垫面洪水淹没区域及面积,可为洪水监测提供有力保障。本文以2016年7月长江流域洪水为例,应用哨兵1号(Sentinel-1)星载合成孔径雷达结合阈值法和伪彩色合成等方法,在GIS工具下对长江流域部分湖泊和长江干流等提取水体区域,得到淹没范围和分县淹没面积,进行洪水淹没区变化分析,并与同期MODIS影像监测结果进行对比验证。结果表明基于哨兵1号的水体提取方法和淹没面积的计算可行。     

21世纪珠江流域水文过程对气候变化的响应

应用HBV-D水文模型和多个气候模式预估了不同温室气体排放情景下珠江主干流西江的径流过程,分析了21世纪水资源量和洪水频率的变化。结果表明：2050年后年降水量和年径流量较基准期（1961—1990年）明显增加;流域平均的月降水量和径流量在5—10月间均呈增加趋势,12月至次年2月呈减少趋势;年最大1 d和7 d洪量逐渐增加,重现期逐渐缩短。2030年前枯水期径流增加有望缓解枯水期用水压力,而2050年之后丰水期径流量以及洪水强度、发生频率的增加将给珠江流域防汛抗洪带来更大压力,在制订气候变化对流域水资源影响适应性对策时应考虑这两方面的影响。