Hydrological response of a High-Arctic catchment to changing climate over the past 35 years: a case study of Bayelva watershed, Svalbard

Polar research

Andy Hodson²  Aga Nowak³ 

[1] Arctic GeologyUniversity Centre in Svalbard, P.O. Box 156, NO-9171 Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway;Department of GeographyUniversity of Sheffield, Winter Street, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK;Department of GeographyUniversity of Sheffield, Winter Street, Sheffield S10 2TN, UKCorrespondence

关键词: Arctic hydrology;    water balance;    rain on snow;    extreme events;    Svalbard;    climate change;   

DOI  :  10.3402/polar.v32i0.19691

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: Co-Action Publishing

【 摘 要 】

Our study considers climate change and its influence upon the hydrology and water balance of the glacierized Bayelva watershed in Svalbard. We find that changes are most noticeable within the last 10 years, when winters have become warmer and wetter. The change is most significant during the shoulder months, especially September, when the transition from summer ablation to winter accumulation is taking place. Winter rainfalls, when extreme, produce ground icings and runoff outside the summer period. Dependent upon summer air temperatures, these icings may either melt and produce additional runoff or persist until the following hydrological year. These processes have a direct influence upon the water budget. They represent sources of error for water-balance calculations that either ignore winter runoff events and/or assume water storage is negligible. We show that even when the watershed is underlain by permafrost and accommodates cold-based glaciers, storage can no longer be ignored. Furthermore, we find ...

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC