Assessment of surface water resources availability using catchment modelling and the results of tracer studies in the mesoscale Migina Catchment, Rwanda

In the present study, we developed a catchment hydrological model which can be used to inform water resources planning and decision making for better management of the Migina Catchment (257.4 km2). The semi-distributed hydrological model HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Engineering Center – the Hydrologic Modelling System) (version 3.5) was used with its...

Identification and simulation of space–time variability of past hydrological drought events in the Limpopo River basin, southern Africa

Droughts are widespread natural hazards and in many regions their frequency seems to be increasing. A finer-resolution version (0.05° × 0.05°) of the continental-scale hydrological model PCRaster Global Water Balance (PCR-GLOBWB) was set up for the Limpopo River basin, one of the most water-stressed basins on the African continent. An irrigation...

Climate trends and impacts on crop production in the Koshi River basin of Nepal

Understanding crop responses to climate is essential to cope with anticipated changes in temperature and precipitation. We investigated the climate–crop yield relationship and the impact of historical climate on yields of rice, maize and wheat in the Koshi basin of Nepal. The results show significant impact of growing season temperature and...

Identification and simulation of space-time variability of past hydrological drought events in the Limpopo river basin, Southern Africa

Comparison of different evaporation estimates over the African continent

Evaporation is a key process in the water cycle with implications ranging, inter alia, from water management to weather forecast and climate change assessments. The estimation of continental evaporation fluxes is complex and typically relies on continental-scale hydrological models or land-surface models. However, it appears that most global or...

Assessment of surface water resources availability using catchment modeling and the results of tracer studies in the meso-scale Migina Catchment, Rwanda

In the last couple of years, different hydrological research projects were undertaken in the Migina catchment (243.2 km2), a tributary of the Kagera river in Southern Rwanda. These projects were aimed to understand hydrological processes of the catchment using analytical and experimental approaches and to build a pilot case whose experience can...

Expected changes in future temperature extremes and their elevation dependency over the Yellow River source region

Using the Statistical DownScaling Model (SDSM) and the outputs from two global climate models, we investigate possible changes in mean and extreme temperature indices and their elevation dependency over the Yellow River source region for the two future periods 2046–2065 and 2081–2100 under the IPCC SRES A2, A1B and B1 emission scenarios. Changes...

Comparison of different evaporation estimates over the African continent

Evaporation is a key process in the water cycle, with implications ranging from water management, to weather forecast and climate change assessments. The estimation of continental evaporation fluxes is complex and typically relies on continental-scale hydrological or land-surface models. However, it appears that most global or continental-scale...

Coping with the uncertainties in the climate change adaptation of river dikes using risk-aversion economic optimization

To guarantee a safe flood defence in a changing environment, the adaptation to climate change needs to be considered in the design of river dikes. However, the large uncertainty in the projections of future climate leads to varied estimations of future flood probability. How to cope with the uncertainties in future flood probability under...

Impact of climate change on sediment yield in the Mekong River basin: A case study of the Nam Ou basin, Lao PDR

This paper evaluates the impact of climate change on sediment yield in the Nam Ou basin located in northern Laos. Future climate (temperature and precipitation) from four general circulation models (GCMs) that are found to perform well in the Mekong region and a regional circulation model (PRECIS) are downscaled using a delta change approach....

An analysis of snow cover changes in the Himalayan region using MODIS snow products and in-situ temperature data

Amidst growing concerns over the melting of the Himalayas’ snow and glaciers, we strive to answer some of the questions related to snow cover changes in the Himalayan region covering Nepal and its vicinity using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover products from 2000 to 2008 as well as in-situ temperature data from...

Trends in temperature and rainfall extremes in the Yellow River source region, China

Spatial and temporal changes in daily temperature and rainfall indices are analyzed for the source region of Yellow River. Three periods are examined: 1960–1990, 1960–2000 and 1960–2006. Significant warming trends have been observed for the whole study region over all the three periods, particularly over the period 1960–2006. This warming is...