Snow hydrology of a headwater Arctic basin. 2. Conceptual analysis and computer modeling

Journal Article · Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · Water Resources Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/91WR00261· OSTI ID:5964142

Hinzman, L D; Kane, D L ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks (United States)

Lack of hydrologic data in the Arctic, particularly during snowmelt, severely limits modeling strategy. Spring snowmelt in Imnavait watershed is a very brief event, usually lasting about 10 days. Peak flow normally occurs within the top 10 cm of the highly organic soil mat or on the surface. Snow damming of snowmelt runoff is an important mechanism which must be considered in the modeling process of small watersheds. These unique characteristics of Arctic hydrology will affect the methodology and performance of a hydrologic model. The HBV model was used in an investigation of the hydrologic regime of an Arctic watershed during the spring snowmelt period. From the analysis of five spring melt events the authors found that HBV can adequately predict soil moisture, evaporation, snow ablation and accumulation, and runoff. It models the volumes of snowmelt runoff well, but more data are needed to improve the determination of snowmelt initiation. Use of HBV as a predictive tool is dependent upon the quality of the meteorologic forecast data.

• OSTI ID: 5964142
• Journal Information: Water Resources Research; (United States), Vol. 27:6; ISSN 0043-1397
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
ARCTIC REGIONS
WATERSHEDS
RUNOFF
FLOW MODELS
HYDROLOGY
ABLATION
ALASKA
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
EVAPORATION
FORECASTING
ICE
ICE CAPS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PERMAFROST
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SNOW
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
POLAR REGIONS
SIMULATION
USA
580000* - Geosciences