Integration of an energy balance snowmelt model into an open source modeling framework

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis paper presents a data model for organizing the inputs and outputs of an energy balance snowmelt model (the Utah Energy Balance Model, UEB) that provides a foundation for its integration into the EPA BASINS modeling framework and enables its coupling with other hydrologic models in this system. Having UEB as a BASINS component has facilitated its coupling with the Geospatial Streamflow Forecast Model (GeoSFM) to compute the melting of glaciers and subsequent streamflow in the Himalayas. The data model uses a combination of structured text and network Common Data Form (netCDF) files to represent parameters, geographical, time series, and gridded space-time data. We describe the design and structure of this data model, integration methodology of UEB and GeoSFM and illustrate the effectiveness of the resulting coupled models for the computation of surface water input and streamflow for a glaciated watershed in Nepal Himalayas.

Assessment of glacier‐ and snowmelt‐driven streamflow in the arid middle Tianshan Mountains of China

“…Since snow, glacial meltwater and rainwater are the inputs for streamflow generation, these were called the “surface water input components”, and the sum of these inputs was referred to as the “total surface water input (SWIT)”. The calculation formula is defined as follows (Sen Gupta et al, 2015). …”

“…UEBGrid quantifies the snow mass balance (Equation ) while the watershed mass balance is given in Equation ) (Sen Gupta et al, 2015). Outputs of the UEB model such as surface water input from snowmelt, glacier melt and rain were aggregated over the watershed. …”

Reform Earth Observation Science and Applications to Transform Hindu Kush Himalayan Livelihoods—Services-Based Vision 2030

“…Due to the very nature of mountain specificity, climate change is reported to largely govern the developmental trends of transitions from subsistence systems to commercial systems, increasing efficiency and productivity, high-value, niche-based and nonfarm products, and increased mobility-migration and remittances (Rasul 2014). Across the HKH region, there are good number of success stories in taking advantage of the science and observations afforded by satellites to make societal impacts and benefits (Gupta et al 2015;Pilon and Asefa 2011). There are differentiated capacities among the HKH regional member countries with regard to the utilization of EO and geospatial technologies.…”

A tool for downscaling weather data from large-grid reanalysis products to finer spatial scales for distributed hydrological applications

“…In this study, we developed a spatial downscaling tool for generating 3-hourly grid surfaces of weather data over a complex terrain using reanalysis and satellite based precipitation data. The tool was developed to address the problem of obtaining sufficiently accurate input data to apply the Utah Energy Balance Snowmelt Model (UEB) to the melting of glaciers in the Himalaya region (Brown et al, 2014;Sen Gupta et al, 2015;Sen Gupta and Tarboton, 2013). The tool was designed to take inputs from large-grid reanalysis products such as NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) (Rienecker et al, 2011), and NOAA's Rainfall Estimation (RFE2) (Bajracharya et al, 2014;2015;Shrestha et al, 2013;Xie and Arkin, 1996;Xie et al, 2002) products.…”

“…The tool was developed to address the problem of obtaining sufficiently accurate input data to apply the Utah Energy Balance Snowmelt Model (UEB) to the melting of glaciers in the Himalaya region (Brown et al, 2014;Sen Gupta et al, 2015;Sen Gupta and Tarboton, 2013). The tool was designed to take inputs from large-grid reanalysis products such as NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) (Rienecker et al, 2011), and NOAA's Rainfall Estimation (RFE2) (Bajracharya et al, 2014;2015;Shrestha et al, 2013;Xie and Arkin, 1996;Xie et al, 2002) products. UEB is an energy and mass balance snowmelt model designed for distributed application over a watershed at a grid scale fine enough to quantify topographic and vegetation variability including the variability in elevation, slope and aspect that are important for radiation inputs (Luce and Tarboton, 2010;Mahat and Tarboton, 2012;Tarboton and Luce, 1996).…”