Climate change impacts on future snow, ice and rain runoff in a Swiss mountain catchment using multi-dataset calibration

Etter, Simon; Addor, Nans; Huss, Matthias; Finger, David C.

doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2017.08.005

Cited by 44 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…However, we did not evaluate the mentioned model improvement in detail since this issue is beyond the scope of the paper. The sequential or integrated multivariable model calibration procedure has been used in many other studies and it led to more accurate results in many cases compared to single‐variable approach (Bergström et al, ; Etter et al, ; Rientjes et al, ; Seibert, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The total amount of snow precipitation in winter affects groundwater recharge and hence also runoff during dry summer periods (Beaulieu et al, ; Van Loon et al, ). The period that is potentially affected by low flows toward late spring and early summer is expected to shift due to earlier snowmelt onset and melt‐out (Etter et al, ). Snow that is accumulated in the cold period can affect low flows during the subsequent warm period especially in areas with large differences in winter and summer precipitation (Godsey et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modeling of Future Changes in Seasonal Snowpack and Impacts on Summer Low Flows in Alpine Catchments

Jeníček¹,

Seibert

Staudinger

2018

Water Resources Research

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It is expected that an increasing proportion of the precipitation will fall as rain in alpine catchments in the future. Consequently, snow storage is expected to decrease, which, together with changes in snowmelt rates and timing, might cause reductions in spring and summer low flows. The objectives of this study were (1) to simulate the effect of changing snow storage on low flows during the warm seasons and (2) to relate drought sensitivity to the simulated snow storage changes at different elevations. The Swiss Climate Change Scenarios 2011 data set was used to derive future changes in air temperature and precipitation. A typical bucket‐type catchment model, HBV‐light, was applied to 14 mountain catchments in Switzerland to simulate streamflow and snow in the reference period and three future periods. The largest relative decrease in annual maximum SWE was simulated for elevations below 2,200 m a.s.l. (60–75% for the period 2070–2099) and the snowmelt season shifted by up to 4 weeks earlier. The relative decrease in spring and summer minimum runoff that was caused by the relative decrease in maximum SWE (i.e., elasticity), reached 40–90% in most of catchments for the reference period and decreased for the future periods. This decreasing elasticity indicated that the effect of snow on summer low flows is reduced in the future. The fraction of snowmelt runoff in summer decreased by more than 50% at the highest elevations and almost disappeared at the lowest elevations. This might have large implications on water availability during the summer.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of Future Changes in Seasonal Snowpack and Impacts on Summer Low Flows in Alpine Catchments

Jeníček¹,

Seibert

Staudinger

2018

Water Resources Research

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“…In Alpine catchments, melt water originating from snow and/or glacier ice represents an important water supply for the lowlands, especially during warm and dry periods. Inhabited areas located downstream of glacierized catchments are strongly dependent on water originating from snow or glacier melt (Beniston, ; Hock, Rees, Williams, & Ramirez, ), which is used for drinking, irrigation, industry, and hydropower production (e.g., Etter, Addor, Huss, & Finger, ; Finger, Heinrich, Gobiet, & Bauder, ; Schaefli, Hingray, & Musy, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…irrigation, industry, and hydropower production (e.g., Etter, Addor, Huss, & Finger, 2017;Finger, Heinrich, Gobiet, & Bauder, 2012;Schaefli, Hingray, & Musy, 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

Understanding hydrological processes in glacierized catchments: Evidence and implications of highly variable isotopic and electrical conductivity data

Zuecco

Carturan

Blasi

et al. 2019

Hydrological Processes

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The spatial and temporal characterization of geochemical tracers over Alpine glacierized catchments is particularly difficult, but fundamental to quantify groundwater, glacier melt, and rain water contribution to stream runoff. In this study, we analysed the spatial and temporal variability of δ2H and electrical conductivity (EC) in various water sources during three ablation seasons in an 8.4‐km2 glacierized catchment in the Italian Alps, in relation to snow cover and hydro‐meteorological conditions. Variations in the daily streamflow range due to melt‐induced runoff events were controlled by maximum daily air temperature and snow covered area in the catchment. Maximum daily streamflow decreased with increasing snow cover, and a threshold relation was found between maximum daily temperature and daily streamflow range. During melt‐induced runoff events, stream water EC decreased due to the contribution of glacier melt water to stream runoff. In this catchment, EC could be used to distinguish the contribution of subglacial flow (identified as an end member, enriched in EC) from glacier melt water to stream runoff, whereas spring water in the study area could not be considered as an end member. The isotopic composition of snow, glacier ice, and melt water was not significantly correlated with the sampling point elevation, and the spatial variability was more likely affected by postdepositional processes. The high spatial and temporal variability in the tracer signature of the end members (subglacial flow, rain water, glacier melt water, and residual winter snow), together with small daily variability in stream water δ2H dynamics, are problematic for the quantification of the contribution of the identified end members to stream runoff, and call for further research, possibly integrated with other natural or artificial tracers.

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“…This population is at most 95% of settled people. If the departments of Aleg and Magta-Iahjar have the lowest densities (bigger surface areas), the populations are mostly gathered around Aleg's lake [7]. Aleg is colonial city that was created at the beginning of the XXth century (1903)(1904) and that has become the administrative centre of the region of Brakna.…”

Section: Presentation Of the Studied Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality Control of Surface Water Quality: A Case Study of the Lake Aleg in Mauritania

Sidi¹,

Fekhaoui²,

Abidine³

et al. 2019

IJARET

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Water quality observation data were collected from 10 representative monitoring sites located in the main stream of the Aleg's lake, Mauritania and its major tributaries between 2018. The Brakna region (Aleg, Mauritania) is symptomatic to the general State of the Mauritanian Sahel, which was hit by a desertification that has been steadily increasing over the last decades. It results in a strong reduction, or even a local loss, of the potential agro-sylvo-pastoral production, leading to a genuine risk for the populations' survival or at least an aggravation of poverty. All this has not been without impact on a highly deteriorated environment and a lastingly mortgaged socio-economic development. In the light of this situation, we will be studying the hydrochemistry of the surface water of Aleg's lake in Mauritania. After many years of domestic exploitation, both industrial and agricultural, besides climate change, it is interesting to ensure water's quality. With this intention, we have tried to realise a physicochemical analysis, an evaluation, to have an idea on the evolution of the chamical facies of Aleg's lake's water. For this, a sampling has been done for both dry seasons and wintering of the year 2017 at the 10 stations on both of the lake's shores. The following physicochemical parameters are: T, pH, C.E, Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , K + , Cl -, HCO3and SO4 -2 . These measures include the volumetric and the spectroscopic analyses.The statistical exploitation of the results and their comparison with the interpretation of Piper's diagram, the results of the present study have shown that the lake's water in general has a bicarbonate calcic and magnesian facies for water at all sampling stations.As well as the evaluation of the analysis of the physicochemical parameters of the water of Aleg's lake presented in this work, it showed that the pH is close to neutrality: 7.43, the mineralization is average due to the conductivity presenting and average of 313.5 µS/cm. the average values of the calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium ions are, respectively, 28.75 mg/L, 21 mg/L, 28.92 mg/L and 18.54 mg/L and the sulphate contents of the samples are very low: 22.13 mg/L. these results meet the FAO norms.

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Climate change impacts on future snow, ice and rain runoff in a Swiss mountain catchment using multi-dataset calibration

Cited by 44 publications

References 73 publications

Modeling of Future Changes in Seasonal Snowpack and Impacts on Summer Low Flows in Alpine Catchments

Modeling of Future Changes in Seasonal Snowpack and Impacts on Summer Low Flows in Alpine Catchments

Understanding hydrological processes in glacierized catchments: Evidence and implications of highly variable isotopic and electrical conductivity data

Quality Control of Surface Water Quality: A Case Study of the Lake Aleg in Mauritania

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