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Modeling Hydrological Processes in Ungauged Snow-Fed Catchment of Western Himalaya

  • WATER RESOURCES AND THE REGIME OF WATER BODIES
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Abstract

Himalayan rivers originating generally from >4000 masl, sustain large number of population downstream. However, these river basins are highly data scarce, and in situ data for hydro-meteorological parameters is available mainly from the regions below 2000 masl. Considering the high level of human dependence on these rivers, it is important to develop policies and plans based on the hydrology of these rivers. Thus it is important to quantify the contribution of various runoff components like snow and ice melt, baseflow, etc. This paper has used conceptual hydrological model, HBV model to estimate the composition and contribution of various runoff components, for the Chenab river basin, Western Himalayas. Similar to hydrological modelling results for other basins of western Himalayas, this study shows that snow and ice melt contribution is significant in the basin and ranges between 40–66% of the total runoff in different seasons. During the post monsoon period, baseflow sustains the perennial nature of river. This research attempts to quantify the seasonal contributions to river runoff and provides valuable insights into hydrological processes operating in this high altitude hydrological catchment to facilitate improved management of water resources in the basin. The study further outlines the uncertainty in simulating low flows in ungauged catchments being fed by snow/ice melt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India

    Sonia Grover

  2. The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi, India

    Shresth Tayal

  3. Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Oslo, Norway

    Stein Beldring & Hong Li

Authors
  1. Sonia Grover
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  2. Shresth Tayal
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  3. Stein Beldring
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  4. Hong Li
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Correspondence to Sonia Grover or Shresth Tayal.

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Sonia Grover, Tayal, S., Beldring, S. et al. Modeling Hydrological Processes in Ungauged Snow-Fed Catchment of Western Himalaya. Water Resour 47, 987–995 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0097807820060147

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