IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/waterr/v28y2014i11p3439-3453.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Snowmelt Modelling Approaches in Watershed Models: Computation and Comparison of Efficiencies under Varying Climatic Conditions

Author

Listed:
  • Anand Verdhen
  • Bhagu Chahar
  • Om Sharma

Abstract

Most of the watershed models contain snowmelt-computing options but there are modelling difficulties in snow-covered watersheds either due to paucity of data or in addressing snowmelt computation weakly. The temperature index (TI) and/or energy balance (EB algorithms of HEC-1, NWSRFS, PRMS, SHE, SRM, SSARR, SWAT, TANK, and UBC models have been investigated. The performance has been evaluated at the point (station specific) snowmelt computation with and without snowpack accounting. The computations have been performed for Solang station at 2 485 m altitude located in the western Himalayas. Springtime weekly snow and meteorological data of 1 983, 2003, and 2008 have been used. Data year 2008 has been used for weekly simulation with the observed snowpack ablation. The probability of success in simulating the snowmelt using TI/EB of all the models in average is 0.77. Nash-Sutcliffe (NS) efficiency coefficients for simulation with snowpack accounting are found to vary between 0.84 and 0.97. Although NS coefficients for verification year 2003 are satisfactory (0.5 to 0.88) but snowmelt prediction/verification efficiency at an interval of 25 years (1983) is below average. However, verification on probability criteria for data year 1983 in the case of TI/EB is 0.63/0.48. Results from EB approach show wind dependent fluctuations. Uncertainty arises due to inter-decadal variability of the snowpack/snowmelt. The approach applied in this paper is valuable in order to have a quick evaluation of snowmelt algorithm before integrating it with any operational watershed model. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:28:y:2014:i:11:p:3439-3453
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-014-0662-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11269-014-0662-7
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11269-014-0662-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xi Chen & Tao Yang & Xiaoyan Wang & Chong-Yu Xu & Zhongbo Yu, 2013. "Uncertainty Intercomparison of Different Hydrological Models in Simulating Extreme Flows," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(5), pages 1393-1409, March.
    2. Saskia Pelt & Rob Swart, 2011. "Climate Change Risk Management in Transnational River Basins: The Rhine," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(14), pages 3837-3861, November.
    3. Aynur Şensoy & Gökçen Uysal, 2012. "The Value of Snow Depletion Forecasting Methods Towards Operational Snowmelt Runoff Estimation Using MODIS and Numerical Weather Prediction Data," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(12), pages 3415-3440, September.
    4. Pascal Hänggi & Rolf Weingartner, 2012. "Variations in Discharge Volumes for Hydropower Generation in Switzerland," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(5), pages 1231-1252, March.
    5. Jueyi Sui & Gero Koehler, 2007. "Impacts of Snowmelt on Peak Flows in a Forest Watershed," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(8), pages 1263-1275, August.
    6. Sanjay Jain & Ajanta Goswami & A. Saraf, 2009. "Role of Elevation and Aspect in Snow Distribution in Western Himalaya," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 23(1), pages 71-83, January.
    7. H. Zeinivand & F. Smedt, 2009. "Hydrological Modeling of Snow Accumulation and Melting on River Basin Scale," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 23(11), pages 2271-2287, September.
    8. Sanjay Jain & Ajanta Goswami & Arun Saraf, 2010. "Assessment of Snowmelt Runoff Using Remote Sensing and Effect of Climate Change on Runoff," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 24(9), pages 1763-1777, July.
    9. Kazi Rahman & Chetan Maringanti & Martin Beniston & Florian Widmer & Karim Abbaspour & Anthony Lehmann, 2013. "Streamflow Modeling in a Highly Managed Mountainous Glacier Watershed Using SWAT: The Upper Rhone River Watershed Case in Switzerland," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(2), pages 323-339, January.
    10. Manohar Arora & Pratap Singh & N. Goel & R. Singh, 2008. "Climate Variability Influences on Hydrological Responses of a Large Himalayan Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 22(10), pages 1461-1475, October.
    11. Nathan Forsythe & Hayley Fowler & Chris Kilsby & David Archer, 2012. "Opportunities from Remote Sensing for Supporting Water Resources Management in Village/Valley Scale Catchments in the Upper Indus Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(4), pages 845-871, March.
    12. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hamidreza Hajihosseini & Mohammadreza Hajihosseini & Saeed Morid & Majid Delavar & Martijn J. Booij, 2016. "Hydrological Assessment of the 1973 Treaty on the Transboundary Helmand River, Using the SWAT Model and a Global Climate Database," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(13), pages 4681-4694, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rajesh Kumar & Shaktiman Singh & Ramesh Kumar & Atar Singh & Anshuman Bhardwaj & Lydia Sam & Surjeet Singh Randhawa & Akhilesh Gupta, 2016. "Development of a Glacio-hydrological Model for Discharge and Mass Balance Reconstruction," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(10), pages 3475-3492, August.
    2. 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.
    3. Deepak Srivastava & Amit Kumar & Akshaya Verma & Siddharth Swaroop, 2014. "Analysis of Climate and Melt-runoff in Dunagiri Glacier of Garhwal Himalaya (India)," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(10), pages 3035-3055, August.
    4. Aynur Şensoy & Gökçen Uysal, 2012. "The Value of Snow Depletion Forecasting Methods Towards Operational Snowmelt Runoff Estimation Using MODIS and Numerical Weather Prediction Data," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(12), pages 3415-3440, September.
    5. Cornelis Leeuwen & Jos Frijns & Annemarie Wezel & Frans Ven, 2012. "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2177-2197, June.
    6. Xiaqing Feng & Guangxin Zhang & Xiongrui Yin, 2011. "Hydrological Responses to Climate Change in Nenjiang River Basin, Northeastern China," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(2), pages 677-689, January.
    7. Lu Zhuo & Dawei Han & Qiang Dai & Tanvir Islam & Prashant Srivastava, 2015. "Appraisal of NLDAS-2 Multi-Model Simulated Soil Moistures for Hydrological Modelling," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(10), pages 3503-3517, August.
    8. Edyta Kiedrzyńska & Marcin Kiedrzyński & Maciej Zalewski, 2015. "Sustainable floodplain management for flood prevention and water quality improvement," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 76(2), pages 955-977, March.
    9. Schaefli, Bettina & Manso, Pedro & Fischer, Mauro & Huss, Matthias & Farinotti, Daniel, 2017. "The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production," Earth Arxiv 7z96d, Center for Open Science.
    10. Manish Goyal & Vishal Singh & Akshay Meena, 2015. "Geospatial and hydrological modeling to assess hydropower potential zones and site location over rainfall dependent Inland catchment," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(8), pages 2875-2894, June.
    11. 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.
    12. Safar Marofi & Hossein Tabari & Hamid Abyaneh, 2011. "Predicting Spatial Distribution of Snow Water Equivalent Using Multivariate Non-linear Regression and Computational Intelligence Methods," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(5), pages 1417-1435, March.
    13. Handriyanti Diah Puspitarini & Baptiste François & Marco Baratieri & Casey Brown & Mattia Zaramella & Marco Borga, 2020. "Complementarity between Combined Heat and Power Systems, Solar PV and Hydropower at a District Level: Sensitivity to Climate Characteristics along an Alpine Transect," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    14. Jonas Savelsberg & Moritz Schillinger & Ingmar Schlecht & Hannes Weigt, 2018. "The Impact of Climate Change on Swiss Hydropower," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-23, July.
    15. Baptiste François & Benoit Hingray & Marco Borga & Davide Zoccatelli & Casey Brown & Jean-Dominique Creutin, 2018. "Impact of Climate Change on Combined Solar and Run-of-River Power in Northern Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, January.
    16. Soulis, Konstantinos X. & Manolakos, Dimitris & Anagnostopoulos, John & Papantonis, Dimitris, 2016. "Development of a geo-information system embedding a spatially distributed hydrological model for the preliminary assessment of the hydropower potential of historical hydro sites in poorly gauged areas," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 222-232.
    17. Pao-Shan Yu & Tao-Chang Yang & Chen-Min Kuo & Yi-Tai Wang, 2014. "A Stochastic Approach for Seasonal Water-Shortage Probability Forecasting Based on Seasonal Weather Outlook," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(12), pages 3905-3920, September.
    18. Fernandes, Gláucia & Gomes, Leonardo Lima & Brandão, Luiz Eduardo Teixeira, 2018. "A risk-hedging tool for hydro power plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 370-378.
    19. Schaefli, Bettina & Manso, Pedro & Fischer, Mauro & Huss, Matthias & Farinotti, Daniel, 2019. "The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 615-627.
    20. Haoyu Jin & Qin Ju & Zhongbo Yu & Jie Hao & Huanghe Gu & Henan Gu & Wei Li, 2019. "Simulation of snowmelt runoff and sensitivity analysis in the Nyang River Basin, southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 99(2), pages 931-950, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:28:y:2014:i:11:p:3439-3453. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.