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3600-4600m 4000m
Terai900-1500m
Glaciers 10% Winter snow cover 35-50 % Maximum monsoon precipitation at 1500 3000 m asl
Hindu Kush Himalayan Region is the water tower of Asia feeding to major Rivers flowing through worlds most populous regions
Inaccessible & inhospitable mountainous conditions Variation in altitude, slope, aspect, soil, and landuse Hydro-meteorological characteristics change over short distances (say on windward and leeward sides) Quite sparse hydrological network in various basins Need for high density of hydrometric stations for reliable assessment of hydrological variables
In addition, need for proper design of hydrometric network and installation of automated telemetry stations
A number of high altitude natural lakes: Wular, Dal, Nagin, Manasbal, Mansar, Surinsar and Sanasar etc. These lakes are of high socio-economic importance but deteriorating with time in quantity and quality Important to estimate water balance components of lakes and suggest measures for their preservation & sustenance A large number of springs in mountainous areas which serve as a source of water supply for nearby population Water flows in the springs are diminishing with time. It is important to understand the hydrology of recharge zones Depending on the causes of diminishing spring flows, ameliorative measures needed to sustain spring flows
1.
2.
Basin name
Glacier area, %
Population, 106
Indus
1,139,814
20,325
1.78
211.28
Ganges
Brahmaputra
1,023,609
527,666
12,659
16,118
1.24
3.05
448.98
62.43
NAP-2012
BRAHMAPUTRA BASIN
H.P SIKKIM
Tista River
Glaciers 449 Area 706 km2 Avg.Size 1.59km2
ARUNACHAL
Kamang River
Glaciers 162 Area 228km2 Avg.Size 1.41 km2
GANGA BASIN
Indus : 8039 Glaciers Area : 33629 km2 Ganga : 968 Glaciers Area : 2857 km2
3500 Glaciers
22200
15590 (70%)
5400 (24%)
9080 (46%)
3800 (19%)
14498 (65%)
4528 (20%)
2700 (51%)
780 (14%)
Chenab River
Akhnoor
49%
Bhakra Dam
60%
Devprayag
30%
Climate & Hydrology vary across the Himalayas offering diverse challenges
Glacio-Hydrological regimes of the Himalaya
Winter Snow regime (Alpine)
Cold-Arid regime
36N
Chenab Basin
32N
(Himalayan catchment)
28N
24N
72E
80E
88E
96E
Variations in Temporal distribution of precipitation ,glacier melt & stream flow characterise various glaciohydrological regimes of the Himalaya In winter snow dominated Alpine system, peak glacier runoff contributes to other wise low flow period of annual stream hydrograph governed by lower precipitation in summer. (Snow>Rain>Glacier)
B) Himalayan catchment (Ganga &Brahmaputra basins) Monsoon dominated Himalayan catchment is characterized by the peak glacier runoff contributing to the crest of the annual stream flow hydrograph from monsoon in July and August months. (Rain>Snow>Glacier)
Thayyen & Gergan, The Cryosphere 2010
C) Cold arid catchment (Indus Basin) In the cold-arid regions of the Ladakh, characteristics are similar to that of Alpine system with extremely low precipitation. (Snow>Glacier>Rain) Precipitation distribution of various glacier basins of the Himalaya
Indus basin
Indus basin
Precipitation variability (Snow & Rain) from east to west & across altitudes controls the hydrology of mountains.
HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING
TYPE OF BASINS
RAINFED BASIN
(Outer Himalayas)
SNOW/RAINFED BASIN
(Middle Himalayas)
STREAMFLOW
STREAMFLOW
STREAMFLOW
Snow
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
Rain
ow Sn
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
fe
as db
in
-* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ci G la
efe
as db
in
Ra
inf
as db
in
Snowmelt Module
Generates liquid water from the snowpack that is available for runoff.
Transformation Module
Converts the liquid output at the ground surface to runoff at the basin outlet.
TEMPERATURE
GLACIER AREA
PRECIPITATION
DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION OF SNOW SNOW MELT CONTRIBUTING AREA GLACIER MELT CONTRIBUTING AREA SNOW FORM OF PRECIPITATION
ACCOUNTING OF LOSSES
ACCOUNTING OF LOSSES
ACCOUNTING OF LOSSES
INFILTRATION
INFILTRATION
INFILTRATION
BASEFLOW
ROUTING
ROUTING
ROUTING
ROUTING
TOTAL
GENERATED
STREAM
FLOW
8000
Observed discharge Simulated discharge Rainfall runoff Melt runoff Baseflow
6000
Discharge (m3/s)
4000
2000
A comparison of observed and simulated discharge of the Chenab River at Salal Dam for the calibration period (1996/1997 to 1998/1999).
Model efficiency for the calibration period (1996/1997, 1997/1998 and 1998/1999)
Period 1996/1997 R2 0.87 Volume difference (%) 7.07
4000
3000
Discharge (m3/s)
2000
1000
A comparison of observed and simulated discharge of the Chenab River at Salal Dam for the vaidation period (1999/2000 to 2001/2002).
Model efficiency for the validation period (1999/2000, 2000/2001 and 2001/2002)
Period 1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 1999/2000 to 2001/2002 R2 0.91 0.90 0.91 0.92 Volume difference(%) 1.73 7.97 3.95 6.6
PAKISTAN
CHINA
GAUGING SITE
BAY OF BENGAL
250
200
2005
200
2006
160
Discharge (m3/s)
Discharge (m3/s)
150
120
100
80
40
50
0
May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov.
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Days
Observed flow Simulated runoff Snowmelt runoff Rainfall runoff Baseflow
Days
160
2007
120
Discharge (m3/s)
80
40
0
May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov.
Days
Different components of simulated runoff for summer season (2005-2007) for the Gangotri Glacier.
Percentage difference in volume, model efficiency and contributions of rainfall, snow & glaciel melt and base flow computed by the model.
Year
Model
Chhatru (Chenab)
Batal (Chenab)
Volume -26% Area - 22% Recession 54m/yr Beaskund-1 (Beas) Beaskund-2 (Beas) Volume -7% Area - 5% Recession 26 m/yr
1980 2006
Khardug glacier
Unnamed vanished glacier
Phutse glacier
Nangtse glacier
Area Change %
Ladakh Range
(1973-2007)
-14.7 -14.0
-5.72% -3.32%
Bambri et al 2011
Area-class (km2)
<1 1-5 5-10 >10
Number
Area (km2)
68 382 329 635
Area (km2)
42 269 240 559
127 159 48 25
Total
359
1414
1110
Variation of mean annual maximum (a), minimum (b) and mean temperature (c) (STI values) in the northwestern Himalaya in the last century. (Tmax=mean maximum temperature, Tmin=mean minimum temperature, Tavg=mean annual temperature, Y=time in years) Bhutiyani et al 2007
Decade-to-decade change in annual mean maximum, mean minimum and average air temperatures (in C/year) in the last century. Positive (negative) values indicate increasing (decreasing) temperatures. a Mean maximum b mean minimum c annual average
Linear trends in winter (a), monsoon (b) and annual precipitation (c) at Leh, Srinagar, Shimla and the NWH during the period 18662006.
(Pwin, Total winter precipitation; Pmon, Total monsoon precipitation; Pann, Total annual precipitation; Butiyani et al 2009)
Seasonwise decade-to-decade rates of increase/decrease in standardized precipitation and temperature indices (SPI and STI) in the NWH.
(a) Winter, (b) Monsoon and (c) Annual.
Varying trend in discharge of some Himalayan Rivers suggesting non-uniform response of Himalayan rivers in various hydrological regimes
Satluj
Beas
Source: Bhutiyani et al
Chenab
HYDROLOGIC EXTREMES
Excess water that cause damage FLOODS Deficit water that cause scarcity in sustaining usual activities and life DROUGHTS
Thayyen et al 2012
Pond sites
S.No
1. 2.
Basin
Tons Yamuna
No of Glacial Lakes
12 8
3.
4. 5. 6. 7.
Bhagirathi
Bhilangana Mandakini Alaknanda Pinder
30
2 10 43 1
8.
9.
Goriganga
Dhauliganga
10
7
10.
11. 12.
Kutiyangi
Beas Chenab
4
59 33
13.
14.
Satluj
Ravi
40
17
15.
16.
Taklinga
Teesta
7
266
Hydrologic Model
With time, water demands are increasing while supplies are getting limited in quantity & quality In such scenarios , water is getting considerable attention for its optimum utilization
Himalayan region suffers from some hydrological problems related to sparse hydrometric network, climate change impact, flash floods, and sedimentation There is a need to create the dense hydrometric network and generate long-term hydrological database for the region
Glacier and snow-melt have major contribution to the river flows in the region. It is necessary to characterize the glaciers in different climatological regions of the basin
To develop adaptation strategies to cope up with the likely climate change impacts, it is important to carry out hydrological modeling studies for different basins with probable climate change scenarios
In view of the enormous hydropower potential in the basin, plan should be developed to generate maximum hydropower from the available resources Sedimentation being a major concern for development of new projects, watershed prioritization measures may be adopted to control sediment generation & movement