Hydrological seasonal forecasts in mountaineous basins
Project: Hydrological seasonal forecasts in mountaineous basinsClient: NWO-Casimir
Partners: Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University
Period: 2008-2011
Aim: Revealing the effects of snow cover on the Tibetan plateau and the Himalayas on the strength of the monsoon and the resulting river discharges in Asia by combining remote sensing, multivariate statistics and simulation models.
Summary
This project is a three year scientific research project supported by the Casimir program of NWO, that aims at promoting the exchange of reserachers between the private and academic sector. The project focuses on the hydrology and cryosphere of the Himalayas and deals with the influence of snow cover of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau on Asian monsoon dynamics, and the possibility to forecast the strength of the monsoon and the hydrological effects in downstream areas. This is further detailed though four specific research questions:
1. What are the spatial and temporal patterns in snow cover in the Himalaya and on the Tibetan plateau?2. Are there empirical relationships between snow cover, the El Nino - Southern Oscillation (ENSO), surface temperature and monsoon precipitation?
3. What is the effect of snow cover on monsoon precipitation, and what are the major underlying processes?
4. Is it possible to forecast the downstream hydrological effects during the monsoon based on pre-monsoon information of snow cover and ENSO status?
The project is executed in close collaboration with the department of Physical Geography of Utrecht University.
Details
Reports
Publicaties
Immerzeel, W.W., Droogers, P., de Jong, S.M., Bierkens, M.F.P., 2009, Large-scale monitoring of snow cover and runoff simulation in Himalayan river basins using remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment 113: 40-49.Links
Project websiteDepartment of Physical geography, Utrecht University
NWO-Casimir website
Please feel free to contact the Project Leader of this project for more information.