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Snow melt runoff simulation and seasonal snow melt volume forecast using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System


  • Model Run
  • Nash Sutcliff goodness of fit
  • Hydrograph plot
  • Mass curve
  • Quit
    • Snowmelt Runoff Simulation module
    The module would perform calculation of snowmelt runoff on daily basis, calculates goodness fit between measured and estimated snowmelt, plotting of measured and estimated snowmelt as hydrograph and plotting of cumulative measured and estimated snowmelt along with correlation coefficients, R2 .

    Model run accepts the period of estimation in terms number of days and calculates the snowmelt discharge estimation for the said period using the data from the previous modules and data files. It calculate daily discharge for the given period in M3 /s. Clicking on Hydrograph-Plot, plots the hydrograph of observed and calculated discharge for user entered period. Mass curve Plot the mass curve of observed and calculated discharge for the specified period.



    Seasonal Snow Melt Volume Forecast
    Seasonal snowmelt runoff volume forecast is basically the total amount snowmelt during the effective melt period i.e. from April to June. This is being calculated based on the correlation between snowcover area and historic snowmelt runoff by linear and non-linear methods.



    Through image invokes image processing environment, the satellite data is loaded and the snowline altitudes are obtained as in the image processing module. The snowline altitude obtained either from image processing module or through key board form direct input for the seasonal snow melt runoff volume forecast.

    Snow cover area - runoff method estimates the discharge (From 1st April to end of June.) by linear correlation and estimated seasonal snowmelt runoff volume is given in M 3 . Regression method estimates the discharge for melt season by non-linear regression and estimated seasonal snowmelt runoff volume is given in M3 .

    Summary and Conclusions
    Customised application interface SRM-GIS has been developed to provide complete solution for daily snow melt runoff simulation and seasonal snow melt forecast. The mapping of snow cover area from the satellite data using digital image processing has been integrated with SRM-GIS with minimal user interaction as an important input for daily snowmelt runoff simulation and seasonal snow melt forecast procedures. The package calculates snow cover area and is stored as one of the input along with precipitation, temperature (Max, Min) and observed discharge data. SRM-GIS calculates various coefficients of recession, degree-day factor, snow/rain separation etc to fine tune the main snow melt model. These coefficients are used for daily snow melt runoff simulation and Nash and Sutcliffe's goodness of fit (R2) is also calculated for the observed and calculated discharges. The final out put of hydrograph and mass curves also displayed on the monitor.

    The SRM-GIS package can be used for any of the snow cover catchments similar to watershed above Manali in Himalayas. 'The adaptability of this package for any other watershed is simpler and very user friendly.

    References
    • Bagchi, A. K. , Ranga Raju, K. G. , and Tiwari, R. S. , 1981, Studies concerning precipitation in Beas catchment using satellite images, IAHR seminar communications, New Delhi, February 1-7, 1981.
    • Jeyaram, A. and Bagchi, A.K., 1982, Snow cover area estimation in Tos basin using Landsat images, International symposium on hydrological aspects of mountainous watersheds, U.O.R, Roorkee, November, 1982.
    • Jeyaram, A., Tiwari, R.S., and Sharma, K.P., 1983, Snowmelt runoff using Landsat images, First national symposium on seasonal snow cover, Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, April, 1983.
    • Kuz'min, P. P. , 1972, melting of snow cover, UOS, department of commerce, national technical information service, translated from Russian by the Israel programme of scientific translation, Jerusalem, 1972.
    • Martinec, J. , 1960, The degree - day factor for snowmelt runoff forecasting, proceedings of general assembly of Helsinki commission on surface waters, IASH publication no.51, 1960. Martinec, J. and Rango, A. , 1979, Discharge forecast in mountain basins based on satellite snow cover mapping, proceedings of operational applications of satellite snow cover observation, NASA conference publication 2116, 1979, pp 223 - 238.
    • Shafer B.A. and Jones E.V. and Frick D.M., 1981, snowmelt runoff simulation using Martinec-Rango model on the South Fork Rio Grande and Conejos river in Colorado, AGRISTARS, conservation and pollution technical report NASA, 1981.
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