A conceptual glacio-hydrological model for high mountainous catchments

摘要

In high mountainous catchments, the spatial precipitation and therefore theoverall water balance is generally difficult to estimate. The present paperdescribes the structure and calibration of a semi-lumped conceptualglacio-hydrological model for the joint simulation of daily discharge andannual glacier mass balance that represents a better integrator of the waterbalance. The model has been developed for climate change impact studies andhas therefore a parsimonious structure; it requires three input times series- precipitation, temperature and potential evapotranspiration - and has 7parameters to calibrate. A multi-signal approach considering daily dischargeand - if available - annual glacier mass balance has been developed for thecalibration of these parameters. The model has been calibrated for threedifferent catchments in the Swiss Alps having glaciation rates between37% and 52%. It simulates well the observed daily discharge, thehydrological regime and some basic glaciological features, such as theannual mass balance.