Effects of climate change on snow accumulation and melting in the Broye catchment (Switzerland)

Bultot, Franz; Gellens, D.; Schädler, Bruno; Spreafico, Manfred

doi:10.1007/bf01104078

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Studies of Martin et al (1994), Bultot et al (1994), Whetton et al (1996) and Beniston (1997) showed a marked sensitivity of simulated snow cover duration to increasing temperature, with the strongest sensitivity at low elevation sites. The study of Martin et al (1994) also examined the impact of variations in precipitation of 10% and, in agreement with the current study, found snow cover duration to be rather insensitive to such variations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity Analysis of Snow Cover to Climate Change Scenarios and Their Impact on Plant Habitats in Alpine Terrain

2005

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Abstract. In high altitude areas snow cover duration largely determines the length of the growing season of the vegetation. A sensitivity study of snow cover to various scenarios of temperature and precipitation has been conducted to assess how snow cover and vegetation may respond for a very localized area of the high Swiss Alps (2050-2500 m above sea level). A surface energy balance model has been upgraded to compute snow depth and duration, taking into account solar radiation geometry over complex topography. Plant habitat zones have been defined and 23 species, whose photoperiodic preferences were documented in an earlier study, were grouped into each zone.The sensitivity of snowmelt to a change in mean, minimum and maximum temperature alone and a change in mean temperature combined with a precipitation change of +10% in winter and −10% in summer is investigated. A seasonal increase in the mean temperature of 3 to 5 K reduces snow cover depth and duration by more than a month on average. Snow melts two months earlier in the rock habitat zone with the mean temperature scenario than under current climate conditions. This allows the species in this habitat to flower earlier in a warmer climate, but not all plants are able to adapt to such changes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity Analysis of Snow Cover to Climate Change Scenarios and Their Impact on Plant Habitats in Alpine Terrain

2005

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“…The indirect influence of temperature conditions, which affect type (solid, liquid) of precipitation, on snow cover in the Carpathians was pointed out by Obrębka-Starklowa et al (1995). Earlier, Bultot et al (1994) demonstrated that a decrease in snowfall retention time with increase in air temperature was highest at altitudes lower than 600 m a.s.l.…”

Section: Temporal and Spatial Differences And Trends Of The Winter Snmentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter severity and snowiness and their multiannual variability in the Karkonosze Mountains and Jizera Mountains

Urban

Richterová

Kliegrová

et al. 2017

Theor Appl Climatol

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This paper analyses winter severity and snow conditions in the Karkonosze Mountains and Jizera Mountains and examines their long-term trends. The analysis used modified comprehensive winter snowiness (WSW) and winter severity (WOW) indices as defined by Paczos (1982). An attempt was also made to determine the relationship between the WSW and WOW indices. Measurement data were obtained from eight stations operated by the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management -National Research Institute (IMGW-PIB), from eight stations operated by the Czech Hydrological and Meteorological Institute (CHMI) and also from the Meteorological Observatory of the University of Wrocław (UWr) on Mount Szrenica. Essentially, the study covered the period from 1961 to 2015. In some cases, however, the period analysed was shorter due to the limited availability of data, which was conditioned, inter alia, by the period of operation of the station in question, and its type.Viewed on a macroscale, snow conditions in the Karkonosze Mountains and Jizera Mountains (in similar altitude zones) are clearly more favourable on southern slopes than on northern ones. In the study area, negative trends have been observed with respect to both the WSW and WOW indices-winters have become less snowy and warmer. The correlation between the WOW and WSW indices is positive. At stations with northern macroexposure, WOW and WSW show greater correlation than at ones with southern macroexposure. This relationship is the weakest for stations that are situated in the upper ranges (Mount Śnieżka and Mount Szrenica).

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“…More detailed investigations, on the other hand, are restricted to mere case studies (e.g. Bultot et al, 1992Bultot et al, , 1994Gurtz et al, 2003;Jasper et al, 2004;Middelkoop et al, 2001;Verbunt et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does climate change affect mesoscale catchments in Switzerland? – a framework for a comprehensive assessment

et al. 2010

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Abstract. Within the framework of this study we identify mesoscale catchments in Switzerland that exhibit sensitivity towards a change in climate with a focus on alterations of the water balance and peak flow conditions. For this study, the hydrological modelling system PREVAH is used, which is a semi-distributed and conceptual yet process-oriented model forced with hourly meteorological input on basis of a spatial resolution of 500×500 m 2 . We calibrate the model where measured discharge records are available and transfer the calibrated model parameters to ungauged catchments through regionalisation, to arrive at a comprehensive set of model parameters for the entire area of Switzerland. To assess future changes, we apply an extensive set of 16 Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to the catchments. The RCM data are downscaled to a dense network of meteorological stations for the period from 2021 to 2050 using the Delta Change Approach. This downscaling method incorporates a bias correction of the RCM output and provides change rates and values for precipitation and temperature.In the present paper we describe the application of a calibration and regionalisation procedure developed previously for Northern Alpine catchments to Southern catchments. The necessity to differentiate between a Northern and a Southern Alpine region, with their distinct climatologic and physiogeographic features, has proved true as the calibrated parameter sets show systematic differences between those regions, e.g. for the runoff forming parameters percolation rate (PERC) or storage time for quick runoff (KOH). For the Southern Alpine area, we calibrated two thirds of the available catchments, i.e. 23 out of 36, successfully for standard and flood conditions according to a combined model score of a linear and logarithmic Nash-Sutcliffe-Efficiency (NSE, NSE ln ) and a mean annual volumetric deviation (VD a ). TheCorrespondence to: N. Köplin (nina.koeplin@giub.unibe.ch) rate of successfully calibrated catchments is rather small in comparison with the results for the Northern Alpine catchments, where 140 out of 159 calibrations have been successful, and the distribution of the Southern catchments is more irregular. However, as the median NSE and NSE ln as well as the range of VD a show an overall good model fit, a successful regionalisation may be expected. Next steps are the regionalisation of the Southern Alpine model parameters and the application of climate scenarios to the complete set of catchments, i.e. about 200 Swiss mesoscale catchments with an average area of 150 km 2 . Thus we can identify process-based relationships between climate sensitivity and catchment characteristics and provide quantitative information on future water balance and peak flow conditions of Swiss mesoscale catchments.

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Effects of climate change on snow accumulation and melting in the Broye catchment (Switzerland)

Cited by 26 publications

References 5 publications

Sensitivity Analysis of Snow Cover to Climate Change Scenarios and Their Impact on Plant Habitats in Alpine Terrain

Sensitivity Analysis of Snow Cover to Climate Change Scenarios and Their Impact on Plant Habitats in Alpine Terrain

Winter severity and snowiness and their multiannual variability in the Karkonosze Mountains and Jizera Mountains

How does climate change affect mesoscale catchments in Switzerland? – a framework for a comprehensive assessment

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