Evaluation of SWAT Model performance on glaciated and non-glaciated subbasins of Nam Co Lake,Southern Tibetan Plateau,China

This paper presents an assessment of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) on a glaciated(Qugaqie) and a non-glaciated(Niyaqu) subbasin of the Nam Co Lake. The Nam Co Lake is located in the southern Tibetan Plateau, two subbasins having catchment areas of 59 km~2 and 388 km~2, respectively. The scores of examined evaluation indices(i.e., R~2, NSE, and PBIAS) established that the performance of the SWAT model was better on the monthly scale compared to the daily scale. The respective monthly values of R~2, NSE, and PBIAS were 0.94, 0.97, and 0.50 for the calibration period while 0.92, 0.88, and -8.80 for the validation period. Glacier melt contribution in the study domain was simulated by using the SWAT model in conjunction with the Degree Day Melt(DDM) approach. The conjunction of DDM with the SWAT Model ensued improved results during both calibration(R~2=0.96, NSE=0.95, and PBIAS=-13.49) and validation (R~2=0.97, NSE=0.96, and PBIAS=-2.87) periods on the monthly time scale. Average contribution(in percentage) of water balance components to the total streamflow of Niyaqu and Qugaqie subbasins was evaluated. We found that the major portion(99.45%) of the streamflow in the Niyaqu subbasin was generated by snowmelt or rainfall surface runoff(SURF_Q), followed by groundwater(GW_Q, 0.47%), and lateral(LAT_Q, 0.06%) flows. Conversely, in the Qugaqie subbasin, major contributor to the streamflow(79.63%) was glacier melt(GLC_Q), followed by SURF_Q(20.14%), GW_Q(0.13%), and LAT_Q(0.089%). The contribution of GLC_Q was the highest(86.79%) in July and lowest(69.95%) in September. This study concludes that the performance of the SWAT model in glaciated catchment is weak without considering glacier component in modeling; however, it performs reasonably well in non-glaciated catchment. Furthermore, the temperature index approach with elevation bands is viable in those catchments where streamflows are driven by snowmelt. Therefore, it is recommended to use the SWAT Model in conjunction with DDM or energy base model to simulate the glacier melt contribution to the total streamflow. This study might be helpful in quantification and better management of water resources in data scarce glaciated regions.     

Landslide dam and subsequent dam-break flood estimation using HEC-RAS model in Northern Pakistan

On the morning of January 4, 2010, a massive landslide swept the Attabad and Sarat villages into the Hunza River. The debris from the landslide blocked the low-lying river, creating a barrier lake in the area and poses a major threat to the villages located downstream. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the environmental advantages and disadvantages created by the formation of the artificial lake. For this purpose, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data were used to create the contours and triangulated irregular network (TIN) of the region. Data from ??Google Earth?? image on March 19, 2010 were used as the reference and to determine the river bed elevation of the study area. Landsat satellite data of Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensor on January 10, March 15, April 24 and May 2, 2010, were used for constructing the Geographic Information System (GIS) layers of the river banks, land use area, overbank flow area and water area estimation. Our results show that the area covered by the water in the lake has increased from 1.28?km² on January 10, 2010 to 6.25?km² on May 2, 2010. The total upstream urban area affected by the river blockage is 13.99?km². We also applied the Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) model to estimate the potential catastrophes due to dam burst for different peak outflow scenarios with conclusions and recommendations.     

Effects of seasonal water-level fluctuation on soil pore structure in the Three Gorges Reservoir,China

Inundation of the Three Gorges Reservoir has created a 30-m water-level fluctuation zone with seasonal hydrological alternations of submergence and exposure, which may greatly affect soil properties and bank stability. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of soil pore structure to seasonal water-level fluctuation in the reservoir, and particularly, the hydrological change of wetting and drying cycles. Soil pore structure was visualized with industrial X-ray computed tomography and digital image analysis techniques. The results showed that soil total porosity(? 100 ?m), total pore number, total throat number, and mean throat surface area increased significantly under wetting and drying cycles. Soil porosity, pore number and throat numberwithin each size class increased in the course of wetting and drying cycles. The coordination number, degree of anisotropy and fractal dimension were indicating an increase. In contrast, the mean shape factor, pore-throat ratio, and Euler-Poincaré number decreased due to wetting and drying cycles. These illustrated that the wetting and drying cycles made soil pore structure become more porous, continuous, heterogeneous and complex. It can thus be deduced that the water-level fluctuation would modify soil porosity, pore size distribution, and pore morphology in the Three Gorges Reservoir, which may have profound implications for soil processes, soil functions, and bank stability.