Estimating degree-day factors from MODIS for snowmelt runoff modeling

Degree-day factors are widely used to estimate snowmelt runoff in operational hydrological models. Usually, they are calibrated on observed runoff, and sometimes on satellite snow cover data. In this paper, we propose a new method for estimating the snowmelt degree-day factor (DDF S ) directly from MODIS snow covered area (SCA) and ground-based snow depth data without calibration. Subcatchment snow volume is estimated by combining SCA and snow depths. Snow density is estimated to be the ratio between observed precipitation and changes in the snow volume for days with snow accumulation. Finally, DDF S values are estimated to be the ratio between changes in the snow water equivalent and difference between the daily temperature and the melt threshold value for days with snow melt. We compare simulations of basin runoff and snow cover patterns using spatially variable DDF S estimated from snow data with those using spatially uniform DDF S calibrated on runoff. The runoff performances using estimated DDF S are slightly improved, and the simulated snow cover patterns are significantly more plausible. The new method may help reduce some of the runoff model parameter uncertainty by reducing the total number of calibration parameters. This method is applied to the Lienz catchment in East Tyrol, Austria, which covers an area of 1198 km 2 . Approximately 70% of the basin is covered by snow in the early spring season.

[1]  Hongjie Xie,et al.  Evaluation of MODIS snow cover and cloud mask and its application in Northern Xinjiang, China , 2008 .

[2]  W. Mauser,et al.  Use of remote sensing for hydrological parameterisation of Alpine catchments , 2003 .

[3]  E. Adams,et al.  Evaluation of snow-surface energy balance models in alpine terrain , 2003 .

[4]  Günter Blöschl,et al.  Uncertainty and multiple objective calibration in regional water balance modelling: case study in 320 Austrian catchments , 2007 .

[5]  D. Lettenmaier,et al.  Assimilating remotely sensed snow observations into a macroscale hydrology model , 2006 .

[6]  Simon Gascoin,et al.  Introducing Hysteresis in Snow Depletion Curves to Improve the Water Budget of a Land Surface Model in an Alpine Catchment , 2014 .

[7]  G. Bloschl.  AN ANALYSIS OF SNOW COVER PATTERNS IN A SMALL ALPINE CATCHMENT , 2006 .

[8]  G. D. Fontana,et al.  Snowmelt modelling by combining air temperature and a distributed radiation index , 1996 .

[9]  Atsumu Ohmura,et al.  Physical Basis for the Temperature-Based Melt-Index Method , 2001 .

[10]  Jeffrey G. Arnold,et al.  Inclusion of glacier processes for distributed hydrological modeling at basin scale with application to a watershed in Tianshan Mountains, northwest China , 2013 .

[11]  Albert Rango,et al.  Revisiting the Degree-Day Method for Snowmelt Computations , 1995 .

[12]  Andrew G. Klein,et al.  Validation of daily MODIS snow cover maps of the Upper Rio Grande River Basin for the 2000–2001 snow year , 2003 .

[13]  L. Hinzman,et al.  Snowmelt Modeling at Small Alaskan Arctic Watershed , 1997 .

[14]  Shiqiang Zhang,et al.  A modified monthly degree‐day model for evaluating glacier runoff changes in China. Part II: application , 2012 .

[15]  Dorothy K. Hall,et al.  Intercomparison of satellite-derived snow-cover maps , 2000, Annals of Glaciology.

[16]  Günter Blöschl,et al.  How well do indicator variograms capture the spatial connectivity of soil moisture , 1998 .

[17]  Zhao Ren-jun,et al.  The Xinanjiang model applied in China , 1992 .

[18]  M. Arora,et al.  Degree day factors for snow and ice for Dokriani Glacier, Garhwal Himalayas , 2000 .

[19]  G. Blöschl,et al.  Modelling snowmelt in a mountainous river basin on an event basis , 1990 .

[20]  E. Kuusisto.  On the Values and Variability of Degree-Day Melting Factor in Finland , 1980 .

[21]  Albert Rango,et al.  Application of a Snowmelt-Runoff Model Using Landsat Data , 1979 .

[22]  H. Gupta,et al.  Diagnostic calibration of a hydrological model in an alpine area , 2014 .

[23]  L. Hinzman,et al.  Snow Hydrology of a Headwater Arctic Basin 2 , 1991 .

[24]  G. Blöschl,et al.  The value of MODIS snow cover data in validating and calibrating conceptual hydrologic models , 2008 .

[25]  Naresh Kumar,et al.  Determination of snowmelt factor in the Himalayan region , 1996 .

[26]  Thomas M. Over,et al.  A comparison of MODIS and NOHRSC snow‐cover products for simulating streamflow using the Snowmelt Runoff Model , 2005 .

[27]  Günter Blöschl,et al.  Time stability of catchment model parameters: Implications for climate impact analyses , 2011 .

[28]  F. Tian,et al.  Thermodynamic watershed hydrological model: Constitutive relationship , 2008 .

[29]  Günter Blöschl,et al.  Climate and catchment controls on the performance of regional flood simulations , 2011 .

[30]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  Model diagnostic analysis of seasonal switching of runoff generation mechanisms in the Blue River basin, Oklahoma , 2012 .

[31]  Regine Hock,et al.  Temperature index melt modelling in mountain areas , 2003 .

[32]  J. Kirchner.  Getting the right answers for the right reasons: Linking measurements, analyses, and models to advance the science of hydrology , 2006 .

[33]  Zuhal Akyürek,et al.  Using MODIS snow cover maps in modeling snowmelt runoff process in the eastern part of Turkey , 2005 .

[34]  N. DiGirolamo,et al.  MODIS snow-cover products , 2002 .

[35]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  Comparative diagnostic analysis of runoff generation processes in Oklahoma DMIP2 basins: The Blue River and the Illinois River , 2012 .

[36]  Chris Derksen,et al.  Estimating Snow Water Equivalent Using Snow Depth Data and Climate Classes , 2010 .

[37]  G. Blöschl,et al.  MODIS-Based Snow Cover Products, Validation, and Hydrologic Applications , 2012 .

[38]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  Extension of the Representative Elementary Watershed approach for cold regions: constitutive relationships and an application , 2007 .

[39]  Martyn P. Clark,et al.  Effects of Temperature and Precipitation Variability on Snowpack Trends in the Western United States , 2005 .

[40]  G. Blöschl,et al.  Distributed Snowmelt Simulations in an Alpine Catchment: 1. Model Evaluation on the Basis of Snow Cover Patterns , 1991 .

[41]  Xingong Li,et al.  Snowmelt runoff modelling in an arid mountain watershed, Tarim Basin, China , 2008 .

[42]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  Extension of the representative elementary watershed approach for cold regions via explicit treatment of energy related processes , 2006 .

[43]  S. Dunn,et al.  Developing the snow component of a distributed hydrological model : a step-wise approach based on multi-objective analysis , 1999 .

[44]  L. Andreassen,et al.  Improving runoff modelling using satellite-derived snow covered area? , 2007 .

[45]  D. Hall,et al.  Accuracy assessment of the MODIS snow products , 2007 .

[46]  Fabio Castelli,et al.  Mutual interaction of soil moisture state and atmospheric processes , 1996 .

[47]  Matthew F. McCabe,et al.  Spatial and temporal variability in seasonal snow density , 2013 .

[48]  N. Molotch,et al.  Influence of canopy structure and direct beam solar irradiance on snowmelt rates in a mixed conifer forest , 2012 .

[49]  F. Veroustraete,et al.  On the usefulness of remote sensing input data for spatially distributed hydrological modelling: case of the Tarim River basin in China , 2012 .

[50]  S. M. Jong,et al.  Large-scale monitoring of snow cover and runoff simulation in Himalayan river basins using remote sensing , 2009 .

[51]  E. J. Klok,et al.  Distributed hydrological modelling of a heavily glaciated Alpine river basin , 2001 .

[52]  Rolf Weingartner,et al.  Assessing the Hydrological Significance of the World's Mountains , 2003 .

[53]  Dorothy K. Hall,et al.  An approach to using snow areal depletion curves inferred from MODIS and its application to land surface modelling in Alaska , 2005 .

[54]  M. Mccabe,et al.  Constraining snowmelt in a temperature-index model using simulated snow densities , 2014 .

[55]  Garry L. Schaefer,et al.  The influence of thermal, hydrologic, and snow deformation mechanisms on snow water equivalent pressure sensor accuracy , 2002 .

[56]  Jan M. H. Hendrickx,et al.  Statistical evaluation of remotely sensed snow-cover products with constraints from streamflow and SNOTEL measurements , 2005 .

[57]  T. Pangburn,et al.  An approach to spatially distributed snow modelling of the Sacramento and San Joaquin basins, California. , 2000 .

[58]  Günter Blöschl,et al.  Spatio‐temporal combination of MODIS images – potential for snow cover mapping , 2008 .

[59]  G. Blöschl,et al.  Distributed Snowmelt Simulations in an Alpine Catchment: 2. Parameter Study and Model Predictions , 1991 .

[60]  R. Hock.  A distributed temperature-index ice- and snowmelt model including potential direct solar radiation , 1999, Journal of Glaciology.

[61]  Massimiliano Zappa,et al.  The hydrological role of snow and glaciers in alpine river basins and their distributed modeling , 2003 .

[62]  M. Hayashi,et al.  Internal structure and hydrological functions of an alpine proglacial moraine , 2011 .

[63]  Robert Kirnbauer,et al.  An analysis of snow cover patterns in a small alpine catchment , 1992 .

[64]  D. Tarboton,et al.  The ABC's of snowmelt : a topographically factorized energy component snowmelt model , 1999 .

[65]  Raymond J. Spiteri,et al.  Implications of mountain shading on calculating energy for snowmelt using unstructured triangular meshes , 2012 .

[66]  M V Georgievsky,et al.  Application of the Snowmelt Runoff model in the Kuban river basin using MODIS satellite images , 2009 .

[67]  Günter Blöschl,et al.  A comparison of regionalisation methods for catchment model parameters , 2005 .

[68]  Dennis P. Lettenmaier,et al.  Evaluation of the snow‐covered area data product from MODIS , 2003 .

[69]  Johannes J. Feddema,et al.  Role of snow and glacier melt in controlling river hydrology in Liddar watershed (western Himalaya) under current and future climate , 2012 .