Hydrological storage and pathways in alpine headwaters

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The long-term goal of this study is to advance our understanding of alpine hydrological processes, develop mathematical algorithms representing these processes, and incorporate the algorithms into large-scale basin models for the prediction of river flow in the warming climate. Most of the rivers in western Canada have their headwaters in the alpine region. The hydrology of alpine headwaters is strongly influenced by the processes involving snow and ice, which in turn are sensitive to the climate warming. An increase in air temperature is expected to result in more rain and less snow, earlier snowmelt and later freeze-up, and the retreat of alpine glaciers. While the wastage of glaciers and the shift in the timing of snowmelt and freeze-up are well documented, their effects on river flow regime are not well understood. This is largely due to the lack of field-based hydrological process studies focusing on storage mechanisms and flow pathways in the alpine headwaters. Without a sound understanding of the hydrological processes, it is difficult to build reliable hydrological models of mountain river basins. Literature review and preliminary studies in the Canadian Rockies have identified critical knowledge gaps in groundwater processes and surface-groundwater interaction. Therefore, the short-term objectives within the next five years will include: 1) characterization of the storage and routing of glacier melt, snowmelt, and rain water in streams, lakes, and groundwater aquifers, 2) development of small-scale (1-10 km2) models of surface and subsurface processes, and 3) linking the small-scale models to large-scale river basin models.