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Snow and glacier melt contribution to the discharge of the river Rhine and its tributaries with regards to the changing climate

Description of the project:
Snow and glacier melt have different impacts on river flow dynamics. The ice-melt component holds the river regime relatively constant, while snow and rain components cause higher interannual variability. As a consequence of climate change the fraction of ice and snowmelt in river flows have changed and will further change in the future. In this project, the snow and glacier melt contribution to the discharge of the river Rhine and its tributaries will be estimated with a combination of different meteorological, glaciological and hydrological data analysis and model simulations at different scales. The headwater basins will be modeled with a transient semi-distributed coupled glacier-snow-hydrology-model based on HBV. These modeled discharge components are then used as input to the large-scale hydrological water balance model LARSIM, which is already used operationally to predict discharge in the Rhine. The climatic variability of the last 100 years will be used to quantify the discharge components and to correctly identify the driving parameters. The model includes reservoirs and partly regulated lakes, since a complex hydraulic system with lakes reacts differently, when the discharge dynamics are changed due to climate change.

Additional information: http://hydro-projektplattform.uni-freiburg.de/asgrhein
contact person: Stahl, Dr. Kerstin
Phone: +49(0)761 203 3532
Email: kerstin.stahl@hydrology.uni-freiburg.de
Runtime:
Start of project: 01.12.2012
End of project: 30.06.2016
Project Management:
Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
Stahl K
Professur für Hydrologie

Friedrichstrasse 39
79098 Freiburg i. Br.
Germany

Phone: +49(0)761-203-3530
Fax: +49(0)761-203-3994
Email: hydrology@hydrology.uni-freiburg.de
http://www.hydro.uni-freiburg.de
Actual Research Report

Contributors:
  • Freudiger D
Financing:
  • Internat. Kommission für die Hydrologie des Rheingebietes KHR, Sonstiges
Keywords:
    Gletscherschmelze, Schneeschmelze, Klimawandel, Abfluss, Modellierung, HBV, LARSIM