Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Investigating the Performance of Snowmelt Runoff Model Using Temporally Varying Near-Surface Lapse Rate in Western Himalayas


Affiliations
1 Inter Disciplinary Program (IDP) in Climate Studies and Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, Indonesia
2 Inter Disciplinary Program (IDP) in Climate Studies and Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India
4 National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee 247 667, India
 

The present study assesses the effect of accounting the temporal variation of near-surface lapse rate in the conceptual, degree-day snowmelt runoff model simulations in a cold-desert region of Himalayas. The nearsurface lapse rate over Spiti basin shows seasonal variation during a year. The results obtained show that the inclusion of monthly variation of lapse rate in the hydrological modelling is able to capture the observed hydrograph more efficiently than when an annually constant value of lapse rate is employed. Based on our results and considering the available data, a monthly representation of near-surface lapse rates in the temperature index based models is recommended for Himalayan basins.

Keywords

Himalayas, Lapse Rate, Snowmelt Runoff Model, Temporal Variation.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Seidel, K. and Martinec, J., Remote Sensing in Snow Hydrology: Runoff Modelling, Effect of Climate Change, Berlin, Springer, 2004.

  • Mankin, J. S., Viviroli, D., Singh, D., Hoekstra, A. Y. and Diffenbaugh, N. S., The potential for snow to supply human water demand in the present and future. Environ. Res. Lett., 2015, 10(11), 114016; http://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114016.

  • Shrestha, A. B., Agrawal, N. K., Alfthan, B., Bajracharya, S. R., Marechal, J. and van Oort, B., The Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas: Impact of climate change on water resources in five of Asia’s major river basins. ICIMOD, GRID-Arendal and CICERO, 2015.

  • Azmat, M., Laio, F. and Poggi, D., Estimation of water resources availability and mini-hydro productivity in high-altitude scarcelygauged watershed. Water Resour. Manage., 2015, 29(14), 5037–5054; http://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-015-1102-z.

  • Kult, J., Choi, W. and Choi, J., Sensitivity of the snowmelt runoff model to snow covered area and temperature inputs. Appl. Geogr., 2014, 55, 30–38; http://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.08.011.

  • Romshoo, A. S., Dar, R. A., Rashid, I., Marazi, A., Ali, N. and Sumira, N., Implications of shrinking cryosphere under changing climate on the streamflows in the lidder catchment in the upper Indus Basin, India. Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res., 2015, 47(4), 627–644.

  • Panday, P. K., Williams, C. A., Frey, K. E. and Brown, M. E., Application and evaluation of a snowmelt runoff model in the Tamor River basin, Eastern Himalaya using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) data assimilation approach. Hydrol. Process., 2014, 28(21), 5337–5353; http://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10005.

  • Singh, P. and Jain, S. K., Modelling of streamflow and its components for a large Himalayan basin with predominant snowmelt yields. Hydrol. Sci. J., 2003, 48(2), 257–276; http://doi.org/10.1623/hysj.48.2.257.44693.

  • Singh, P. and Bengtsson, L., Effect of warmer climate on the depletion of snow-covered area in the Satluj basin in the western Himalayan region. Hydrol. Sci. J., 2003, 48(3), 413–425.

  • Martinec, J., Rango, A. and Roberts, R., Snowmelt Run-off Model (SRM) User’s Manual, College of Agriculture Home Econonic, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA, 2008.

  • Marshall, S. J., Sharp, M. J., Burgess, D. O. and Anslow, F. S., Near-surface-temperature lapse rates on the Prince of Wales Ice-field, Ellesmere Island, Canada: implications for regional downscaling of temperature. Int. J. Climatol., 2007, 27(3), 385–398; http://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1396.

  • Glickman, T. S., Glossary of Meteorology, American Meteorological Society, Boston, 2000.

  • Gardner, A. S. et al., Near-surface temperature lapse rates over Arctic Glaciers and their implications for temperature downscaling. J. Climatol., 2009, 22(16), 4281–4298.

  • Minder, J. R., Mote, P. W. and Lundquist, J. D., Surface temperature lapse rates over complex terrain: lessons from the Cascade Mountains. J. Geophys. Res. Atmosp., 2010, 115(14), 1–13; http://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013493.

  • Blandford, T. R., Humes, K. S., Harshburger, B. J., Moore, B. C., Walden, V. P. and Ye, H., Seasonal and synoptic variations in near-surface air temperature lapse rates in a mountainous basin. J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol., 2008, 47(1), 249–261; http://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAMC1565.1.

  • Harlow, R. C., Burke, E. J., Scott, R. L., Shuttleworth, W. J., Brown, C. M. and Petti, J. R., Derivation of temperature lapse rates in semi-arid southeastern Arizona. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 2004, 8, 1179–1185.

  • Seidel, D. J. and Free, M., Climatologies and trends at low and high elevation. Clim. Change, 2003, 59(1–2), 53–74.

  • Li, X. G. and Williams, M. W., Snowmelt runoff modeling in an arid mountain watershed, Tarim Basin, China. Hydrol. Process., 2008, 22(19), 3931–3940; doi:10.1002/hyp.7098

  • Richard, C. and Gratton, D. J., The importance of the air temperature variable for the snowmelt runoff modelling using the SRM. Hydrol. Process., 2001, 15(18), 3357–3370.

  • Kattel, D. B., Yao, T., Yang, K., Tian, L., Yang, G. and Joswiak, D., Temperature lapse rate in complex mountain terrain on the southern slope of the central Himalayas. Theor. Appl. Climatol., 2013, 113(3–4), 671–682; http://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-012-0816-6.

  • Hall, D. K., Riggs, G. A. and Salomonson, V. V., Development of methods for mapping global snow cover using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer data. Remote Sensing Environ., 1995, 54(2), 127–140.

  • Hall, D. K. et al., MODIS snow-cover products. Remote Sensing Environ., 2002, 83(1–2), 181–194.

  • Abudu, S., Sheng, Z., Cui, C., Saydi, M., Sabzi, H.-Z. and King, J. P., Integration of aspect and slope in snowmelt runoff modeling in a mountain watershed. Water Sci. Eng., 9, 265–273; http://doi.org/10.1016/j.wse.2016.07.002.

  • Kumar, A. and Ramsankaran, RAAJ., Snowmelt Runoff Simulation for Spiti Watershed in Western Himalayas using Remote Sensing and GIS, Master’s Thesis report, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai, 2015.

  • Singh, P., Kumar, N. and Arora, M., Degree-day factors for snow and ice for Dokriani Glacier, Garhwal Himalayas. J. Hydrol., 2000, 235(1–2), 1–11; http://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(00)00249-3.


Abstract Views: 194

PDF Views: 77




  • Investigating the Performance of Snowmelt Runoff Model Using Temporally Varying Near-Surface Lapse Rate in Western Himalayas

Abstract Views: 194  |  PDF Views: 77

Authors

Smarika Kulshrestha
Inter Disciplinary Program (IDP) in Climate Studies and Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, Indonesia
RAAJ Ramsankaran
Inter Disciplinary Program (IDP) in Climate Studies and Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India
Ajay Kumar
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076, India
Manohar Arora
National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee 247 667, India
A. R. Senthil Kumar
National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee 247 667, India

Abstract


The present study assesses the effect of accounting the temporal variation of near-surface lapse rate in the conceptual, degree-day snowmelt runoff model simulations in a cold-desert region of Himalayas. The nearsurface lapse rate over Spiti basin shows seasonal variation during a year. The results obtained show that the inclusion of monthly variation of lapse rate in the hydrological modelling is able to capture the observed hydrograph more efficiently than when an annually constant value of lapse rate is employed. Based on our results and considering the available data, a monthly representation of near-surface lapse rates in the temperature index based models is recommended for Himalayan basins.

Keywords


Himalayas, Lapse Rate, Snowmelt Runoff Model, Temporal Variation.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv114%2Fi04%2F808-813