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Modelling the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Snowpack in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed, Alberta

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  • Ryan MacDonald
  • James Byrne
  • Sarah Boon
  • Stefan Kienzle

Abstract

The North Saskatchewan River basin is a large watershed in central Alberta that provides water for a range of stakeholders, including large municipalities, agricultural operations, power generation, and resource extraction industries. This study assesses potential future changes in snowpack for the North Saskatchewan River watershed in response to a range of GCM-derived climate warming scenarios representing the periods from 2010-2039 (2020s), 2040-2069 (2050s), and 2070-2099 (2080s). The GENESYS (GENerate Earth SYstems Science input) spatial hydrometeorological model is applied to simulate potential changes in the zero degree isotherm, precipitation phase, watershed average maximum spring snow water equivalent (SWE), the dates of maximum and minimum SWE, and snowmelt period for these future climate scenarios. Climate warming is likely to result in an upwards shift in elevation of the zero degree isotherm, with a transition to more precipitation occurring as rain than snow. Although watershed average maximum SWE may not change under future conditions, the timing of spring snowmelt onset is likely to change under the future climate scenarios applied. It is demonstrated that increased air temperatures are expected to result in substantial changes in snowpack processes in the North Saskatchewan River watershed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Ryan MacDonald & James Byrne & Sarah Boon & Stefan Kienzle, 2012. "Modelling the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Snowpack in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed, Alberta," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(11), pages 3053-3076, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:26:y:2012:i:11:p:3053-3076
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-012-0016-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marie Minville & François Brissette & Stéphane Krau & Robert Leconte, 2009. "Adaptation to Climate Change in the Management of a Canadian Water-Resources System Exploited for Hydropower," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 23(14), pages 2965-2986, November.
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    4. Bekele Debele & Raghavan Srinivasan & A. Gosain, 2010. "Comparison of Process-Based and Temperature-Index Snowmelt Modeling in SWAT," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(6), pages 1065-1088, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. S. Samadi & Gregory Carbone & M. Mahdavi & F. Sharifi & M. Bihamta, 2013. "Statistical Downscaling of River Runoff in a Semi Arid Catchment," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(1), pages 117-136, January.
    2. Gholamreza Roshan & AbdolAzim Ghanghermeh & Touraj Nasrabadi & Jafar Meimandi, 2013. "Effect of Global Warming on Intensity and Frequency Curves of Precipitation, Case Study of Northwestern Iran," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(5), pages 1563-1579, March.
    3. Anand Verdhen & Bhagu Chahar & Om Sharma, 2014. "Snowmelt Modelling Approaches in Watershed Models: Computation and Comparison of Efficiencies under Varying Climatic Conditions," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(11), pages 3439-3453, September.

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