Hydrological storage and pathways in alpine headwaters

这项研究的长期目标是促进我们对高山水文过程的理解，开发出代表这些过程的数学算法，并将这些算法整合到大型流域模型中，以预测气候变暖时的河流流量。加拿大西部的大部分河流都发源于阿尔卑斯山地区。高山源头的水文学受到冰雪过程的强烈影响，而冰雪过程又对气候变暖非常敏感。气温的升高预计将导致更多的降雨和更少的雪，更早的积雪融化和后来的冰冻，以及高山冰川的消退。虽然冰川的消融和融雪和结冰时间的变化已经有了很好的记录，但它们对河流流量状况的影响并没有得到很好的了解。这在很大程度上是因为缺乏以现场为基础的水文过程研究，重点是高山源头的储存机制和流动路径。如果不能很好地了解水文过程，就很难建立可靠的山区河流流域水文模型。加拿大落基山脉的文献审查和初步研究查明了地下水过程和地表水-地下水相互作用方面的关键知识差距。因此，未来五年的短期目标将包括：1)描述河流、湖泊和地下蓄水层中冰川融化、积雪融化和雨水的储存和路线，2)开发地表和地下过程的小尺度(1-10平方公里)模型，以及3)将小尺度模型与大尺度流域模型联系起来。

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.