Discharge regime and simulation for the upstream of major rivers over Tibetan Plateau

The hydrological regimes for the major river basins in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), including the source regions of the Yellow (UYE), Yangtze (UYA), Mekong (UM), Salween (US), Brahmaputra (UB), and Indus (UI) rivers, were investigated through a land surface model and regression analyses between climate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres 2013-08, Vol.118 (15), p.8500-8518
Main Authors: Zhang, Leilei, Su, Fengge, Yang, Daqing, Hao, Zhenchun, Tong, Kai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Basins
discharge
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Geophysics
glacier runoff
Glaciers
hydroclimatology
Hydrology
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
Land
Mathematical models
rainfall runoff
Rivers
Runoff
snow runoff
Snowmelt
Tibetan Plateau
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Summary:The hydrological regimes for the major river basins in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), including the source regions of the Yellow (UYE), Yangtze (UYA), Mekong (UM), Salween (US), Brahmaputra (UB), and Indus (UI) rivers, were investigated through a land surface model and regression analyses between climate variables and runoff data. A hydrologic modeling framework was established across the TP to link the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) land surface hydrology model with a degree‐day glacier‐melt scheme (VIC‐glacier model) at a 1/12° × 1/12°. The model performance was evaluated over the upper basins of the six rivers. The heterogeneity and scarcity of the meteorological stations are the major limitation for hydrological modeling over the TP. The relative contributions to streamflow from rainfall, snowmelt, and glacier melt for the six basins were quantified via the model framework and simulation. The results suggest that monsoon precipitation has a dominant role in sustaining seasonal streamflow over southeastern regions, contributing 65–78% of annual runoff among the UYE, UYA, UM, US, and UB basins. For the UI, the runoff regime is largely controlled by the glacier melt and snow cover in spring and summer. The contribution of glacier runoff is minor for the UYE and UM (less than 2% of total annual flow), and moderate for the UYA and US basins (5–7% of yearly flow), while glacier melt makes up about 12% and 48% of annual flow for the UB and UI basins, respectively. Key Points The contribution of glacier‐melt water was quantified
ISSN:2169-897X
2169-8996
DOI:10.1002/jgrd.50665