TY - GEN

T1 - Process-based hydrological modelling in different permafrost environments

AU - Lebedeva, L. S.

AU - Makarieva, O. M.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Proceedings - 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2017. All rights reserved.

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - More than 60% of Russia and 20% of land surface in Northern Hemisphere is covered by permafrost. Hydrological cycle is influenced by time-variable frozen aquiclude, limited connectivity between surface and ground water, long snow season and period of river ice cover. Hydrological models developed for the temperate regions are not applicable in the permafrost river basins. The aim of the study is to make use of historically collected experimental hydrological data for modelling poorly-gauged river basins on larger scales in different Russian permafrost environments using process-based modelling approach. The Hydrograph model used in the study explicitly simulates heat and water dynamics in the soil profile thus is able to reflect ground thawing/freezing and change of soil storage capacity through the summer in permafrost environments. The key model parameters are vegetation and soil properties that relate to land surface classes. They are assessed based on field observations and literature data, do not need calibration and could be transferred to other basins with similar landscapes. Model time step is daily, meteorological input are air temperature, precipitation and air moisture. Parameter set is initially developed in the small research basins located in mountains and lowlands. The Hydrograph model was tested against ground thawing and freezing depth, soil moisture, ground temperature and snow characteristics in different permafrost landscapes in Central Yakutia and North-Eastern Siberia. Shestakovka River basin (area 170 km2) is a left tributary of the Lena River in the vicinity of Yakutsk city. The climate is very dry and continental. Mean air temperature (MAT) is -9.5°C, precipitation is 240 mm/year. The Kontaktovy Creek basin (area 21.2 km2) is located in the Upper Kolyma plateau in NorthEastern Siberia. It is characterized by colder (MAT -11.4°C) and wetter (290-460 mm/year) climate. Both of the watersheds have been monitored for several decades. For both Shestakovka and Kontaktvy watersheds simulated soil and snow variable states have satisfactory agreement with observed ones. The river runoff simulation results for the Shestakovka River show very high variability from year to year. Results for mean and wet years are generally better than for dry years. Modelling results for the Kontaktovy Creek are satisfactory. The largest deviations occur in the spring flood period when presumably underground water pathway exist even in the frozen ground but are not accounted for by the model. Refined set of model parameters was transferred to middle and large river basins characterized by similar landscapes and dominant hydrological processes. Model application to three rivers in Central Yakutia with basin areas between 3 380 and 65 400 km2 and six river basins in North-Eastern Siberia with areas from 65 to 42600 km2 suggests that the Hydrograph model is suitable tool for hydrological process investigation in permafrost zone. We conclude that data about internal catchment processes on the smaller scale is essential for the increasing model realism on small and large scales in the dynamic and vulnerable permafrost environments.

AB - More than 60% of Russia and 20% of land surface in Northern Hemisphere is covered by permafrost. Hydrological cycle is influenced by time-variable frozen aquiclude, limited connectivity between surface and ground water, long snow season and period of river ice cover. Hydrological models developed for the temperate regions are not applicable in the permafrost river basins. The aim of the study is to make use of historically collected experimental hydrological data for modelling poorly-gauged river basins on larger scales in different Russian permafrost environments using process-based modelling approach. The Hydrograph model used in the study explicitly simulates heat and water dynamics in the soil profile thus is able to reflect ground thawing/freezing and change of soil storage capacity through the summer in permafrost environments. The key model parameters are vegetation and soil properties that relate to land surface classes. They are assessed based on field observations and literature data, do not need calibration and could be transferred to other basins with similar landscapes. Model time step is daily, meteorological input are air temperature, precipitation and air moisture. Parameter set is initially developed in the small research basins located in mountains and lowlands. The Hydrograph model was tested against ground thawing and freezing depth, soil moisture, ground temperature and snow characteristics in different permafrost landscapes in Central Yakutia and North-Eastern Siberia. Shestakovka River basin (area 170 km2) is a left tributary of the Lena River in the vicinity of Yakutsk city. The climate is very dry and continental. Mean air temperature (MAT) is -9.5°C, precipitation is 240 mm/year. The Kontaktovy Creek basin (area 21.2 km2) is located in the Upper Kolyma plateau in NorthEastern Siberia. It is characterized by colder (MAT -11.4°C) and wetter (290-460 mm/year) climate. Both of the watersheds have been monitored for several decades. For both Shestakovka and Kontaktvy watersheds simulated soil and snow variable states have satisfactory agreement with observed ones. The river runoff simulation results for the Shestakovka River show very high variability from year to year. Results for mean and wet years are generally better than for dry years. Modelling results for the Kontaktovy Creek are satisfactory. The largest deviations occur in the spring flood period when presumably underground water pathway exist even in the frozen ground but are not accounted for by the model. Refined set of model parameters was transferred to middle and large river basins characterized by similar landscapes and dominant hydrological processes. Model application to three rivers in Central Yakutia with basin areas between 3 380 and 65 400 km2 and six river basins in North-Eastern Siberia with areas from 65 to 42600 km2 suggests that the Hydrograph model is suitable tool for hydrological process investigation in permafrost zone. We conclude that data about internal catchment processes on the smaller scale is essential for the increasing model realism on small and large scales in the dynamic and vulnerable permafrost environments.

KW - Hydrological modelling

KW - Permafrost river basin

KW - The Hydrograph model

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85080894808&partnerID=8YFLogxK

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:85080894808

T3 - Proceedings - 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2017

SP - 1697

EP - 1703

BT - Proceedings - 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2017

A2 - Syme, Geoff

A2 - MacDonald, Darla Hatton

A2 - Fulton, Beth

A2 - Piantadosi, Julia

PB - Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc. (MSSANZ)

T2 - 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation: Managing Cumulative Risks through Model-Based Processes

Y2 - 3 December 2017 through 8 December 2017

ER -