Modelling of melt and runoff in a basin with debris covered glacier parts in the upper Aksu catchment, northwest China

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Northwest China currently experiences a climate change with fundamental consequences forthe hydrological cycle. In the strongly arid region, glacier meltwater is essential for agricultureand food production. The vast distribution of supraglacial moraine is an importantglaciological feature of the region and has major impact on melt rates. It is essential tounderstand and quantify the interaction of climate and sub-debris melt in order to asses thecurrent situation and to predict future water yield. Within this project, a model will bedeveloped to reproduce ablation under moraine cover by combining an empirical and amorphological-statistical approach with remote sensing techniques. This model will beimplemented into an existing hydrological model, which will then be capable to simulaterunoff in catchments with debris covered glaciers parts. The runoff model will be calibratedwith observed hydrometeorological data. Subsequently, scenario runs for future climate andglaciation will allow to improve our understanding in climate-glacier-runoff interaction and todetermine changes in the hydrological cycle.