Snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic Canada
Abstract Snowmelt is responsible for much of the annual runoff and most of the peak discharges in subarctic mountainous regions. It also provides a significant amount of freshwater inflow to the polar seas, which has implications for Arctic Ocean circulation. Owing to considerable topographic contra...
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crwiley:10.1002/hyp.6205 2024-09-15T17:54:17+00:00 Snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic Canada Woo, Ming‐Ko Thorne, Robin 2006 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6205 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhyp.6205 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hyp.6205 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Hydrological Processes volume 20, issue 10, page 2129-2139 ISSN 0885-6087 1099-1085 journal-article 2006 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6205 2024-08-13T04:19:19Z Abstract Snowmelt is responsible for much of the annual runoff and most of the peak discharges in subarctic mountainous regions. It also provides a significant amount of freshwater inflow to the polar seas, which has implications for Arctic Ocean circulation. Owing to considerable topographic contrasts in large mountainous basins, snow accumulation and melt patterns are highly variable in time and space, but the scarcity of data in these regions prevents the patterns from being discerned. Application of a macro‐scale hydrological model (using reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the North American Regional Reanalysis) offers one suitable approach to estimate the magnitude and timing of snowmelt contribution to discharge from large mountainous catchments. The Liard basin, subarctic Canada, is used as an example and the SLURP (Semi‐distributed Land‐use‐based Runoff Processes) model allows hydrograph simulation for the Liard and its sub‐basins. Three sets of reanalysis temperature and precipitation data provide inputs to assess the sensitivity of model simulation. The spatial patterns of snowmelt, runoff and stream discharge for four water years were simulated. The SLURP model was found to be sensitive to a plausible range of input conditions as depicted by the three sets of reanalysis data. Despite differences in detail among the three sets of simulation results, several generalities emerged. A comparison of simulated snow cover with satellite data confirms that there are altitudinal delays in spring flow generation though latitude has no apparent influence. Runoff lags snowmelt while the catchment integrates flows of its tributaries, yet different combinations of winter snowfall and spring melt rates cause large interannual variations in snowmelt discharge. Streamflow measured and simulated at four stations along the main river permits an evaluation of runoff contribution from various sectors of the basin. The overall ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ocean Subarctic Wiley Online Library Hydrological Processes 20 10 2129 2139 |
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English |
description |
Abstract Snowmelt is responsible for much of the annual runoff and most of the peak discharges in subarctic mountainous regions. It also provides a significant amount of freshwater inflow to the polar seas, which has implications for Arctic Ocean circulation. Owing to considerable topographic contrasts in large mountainous basins, snow accumulation and melt patterns are highly variable in time and space, but the scarcity of data in these regions prevents the patterns from being discerned. Application of a macro‐scale hydrological model (using reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the North American Regional Reanalysis) offers one suitable approach to estimate the magnitude and timing of snowmelt contribution to discharge from large mountainous catchments. The Liard basin, subarctic Canada, is used as an example and the SLURP (Semi‐distributed Land‐use‐based Runoff Processes) model allows hydrograph simulation for the Liard and its sub‐basins. Three sets of reanalysis temperature and precipitation data provide inputs to assess the sensitivity of model simulation. The spatial patterns of snowmelt, runoff and stream discharge for four water years were simulated. The SLURP model was found to be sensitive to a plausible range of input conditions as depicted by the three sets of reanalysis data. Despite differences in detail among the three sets of simulation results, several generalities emerged. A comparison of simulated snow cover with satellite data confirms that there are altitudinal delays in spring flow generation though latitude has no apparent influence. Runoff lags snowmelt while the catchment integrates flows of its tributaries, yet different combinations of winter snowfall and spring melt rates cause large interannual variations in snowmelt discharge. Streamflow measured and simulated at four stations along the main river permits an evaluation of runoff contribution from various sectors of the basin. The overall ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Woo, Ming‐Ko Thorne, Robin |
spellingShingle |
Woo, Ming‐Ko Thorne, Robin Snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic Canada |
author_facet |
Woo, Ming‐Ko Thorne, Robin |
author_sort |
Woo, Ming‐Ko |
title |
Snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic Canada |
title_short |
Snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic Canada |
title_full |
Snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic Canada |
title_fullStr |
Snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic Canada |
title_sort |
snowmelt contribution to discharge from a large mountainous catchment in subarctic canada |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6205 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhyp.6205 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hyp.6205 |
genre |
Arctic Ocean Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ocean Subarctic |
op_source |
Hydrological Processes volume 20, issue 10, page 2129-2139 ISSN 0885-6087 1099-1085 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6205 |
container_title |
Hydrological Processes |
container_volume |
20 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
2129 |
op_container_end_page |
2139 |
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1810430535595458560 |