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Snow and glacier melt in the Satluj River at Bhakra Dam in the western Himalayan region

Singhal, Pranshu LU and Jain, SK (2002) In Hydrological Sciences Journal 47(1). p.93-106
Abstract
Streamflow in the Himalayan rivers is generated from rainfall, snow and ice. The distribution of runoff produced from these sources is such that the streamflow may be observed in these rivers throughout the year, i.e. they are perennial in nature. Snow and glacier melt runoff contributes substantially to the annual flows of these rivers and its estimation is required for the planning, development and management of the water resources of this region. The average contribution of snow and glacier melt runoff in die annual flows of the Satluj River at Bhakra Dam has been determined. Keeping in view the availability of data for the study basin, a water balance approach was used and a water budget period of 10 years (October 1986-September 1996)... (More)
Streamflow in the Himalayan rivers is generated from rainfall, snow and ice. The distribution of runoff produced from these sources is such that the streamflow may be observed in these rivers throughout the year, i.e. they are perennial in nature. Snow and glacier melt runoff contributes substantially to the annual flows of these rivers and its estimation is required for the planning, development and management of the water resources of this region. The average contribution of snow and glacier melt runoff in die annual flows of the Satluj River at Bhakra Dam has been determined. Keeping in view the availability of data for the study basin, a water balance approach was used and a water budget period of 10 years (October 1986-September 1996) was considered for the analysis. The rainfall input to the study basin over the water budget period was computed from isohyets using rainfall data of 10 stations located at different elevations in the basin. The total volume of flow for the same period was computed using observed flow data of the Satluj River at Bhakra Darn. A relationship between temperature and evaporation was developed and used to estimate the evapotranspiration losses. The snow-covered area, and its depletion with time, was determined using satellite data. It was found that the average contribution of snow and glacier runoff in the annual flow of the Satluj River at Bhakra Dam is about 59%, the remaining 41% being from rain. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
snow-covered area, Himalayan mountain system, hydropower potential, water budget, remote sensing, precipitation distribution, snow and, glacier melt, isohyetal method
in
Hydrological Sciences Journal
volume
47
issue
1
pages
93 - 106
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • wos:000173955900008
  • scopus:0036182805
ISSN
0262-6667
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c7e48e25-71b2-4c6e-8b18-b943a86caefe (old id 910182)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:29:15
date last changed
2022-03-30 08:14:22
@article{c7e48e25-71b2-4c6e-8b18-b943a86caefe,
  abstract     = {{Streamflow in the Himalayan rivers is generated from rainfall, snow and ice. The distribution of runoff produced from these sources is such that the streamflow may be observed in these rivers throughout the year, i.e. they are perennial in nature. Snow and glacier melt runoff contributes substantially to the annual flows of these rivers and its estimation is required for the planning, development and management of the water resources of this region. The average contribution of snow and glacier melt runoff in die annual flows of the Satluj River at Bhakra Dam has been determined. Keeping in view the availability of data for the study basin, a water balance approach was used and a water budget period of 10 years (October 1986-September 1996) was considered for the analysis. The rainfall input to the study basin over the water budget period was computed from isohyets using rainfall data of 10 stations located at different elevations in the basin. The total volume of flow for the same period was computed using observed flow data of the Satluj River at Bhakra Darn. A relationship between temperature and evaporation was developed and used to estimate the evapotranspiration losses. The snow-covered area, and its depletion with time, was determined using satellite data. It was found that the average contribution of snow and glacier runoff in the annual flow of the Satluj River at Bhakra Dam is about 59%, the remaining 41% being from rain.}},
  author       = {{Singhal, Pranshu and Jain, SK}},
  issn         = {{0262-6667}},
  keywords     = {{snow-covered area; Himalayan mountain system; hydropower potential; water budget; remote sensing; precipitation distribution; snow and; glacier melt; isohyetal method}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{93--106}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Hydrological Sciences Journal}},
  title        = {{Snow and glacier melt in the Satluj River at Bhakra Dam in the western Himalayan region}},
  volume       = {{47}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}