Hydrological Changes in Alpine Glacierized Catchments

随着气候变暖导致山地环境中冰冻圈的迅速退化，它正在导致重大的水文变化，影响到生物多样性、水资源和生态系统服务。这些不利影响在水源下游数百公里处都能观察到，因为高山冰冻圈地貌(如冰川)是一年中炎热和干燥月份河流的主要水源。尽管迫切需要制定适应战略，但显然仍需要对这些水文变化进行可靠的预测。缺乏对冰川集水区水文过程的了解是预测精度有限的最主要原因。在此背景下，我提议的研究计划的长期目标是提高对高山冰川集水区水文过程的了解，以便以可靠的方式改进对未来水资源变化的预测。提出了五个次级目标，其中三个侧重于研究流域的规模：(1)量化控制诸如岩石冰川、碎片覆盖的冰和冰层等特征的分水岭外流的贡献和过程；(2)描述这些特征、地下水和地表径流之间的相互联系；(3)描述它们对气候变化的敏感性。有两个分目标侧重于区域范围：(4)衡量和相互比较这些特征在多个流域的范围和演变情况；(5)对冰冻圈--水文相互作用进行区域概览。我的研究计划将重点放在育空地区西南部的圣埃利亚斯山脉，研究地点将是灰熊小溪，这是一个32平方公里的冰川集水区，位于克鲁恩国家公园和保护区。研究地点有许多相互关联的冰冻圈特征，这使得它非常适合拟议的计划的子目标。研究将遵循多方法方法，利用现有技术(例如地球物理、环境示踪、遥感)和将通过该计划开发的新的尖端方法(例如热成像、结冰监测)。拟议的研究计划整合了独特的方法组合，将应用于加拿大一个偏远但具有重要水文意义的地区。所提出的一些方法具有很强的创新性，一旦开发和测试，将适用于寒区水文的其他领域。该计划将为北方社区提供对高山冰川集水区水文过程的更好理解，以更好地预测由于气候变暖而带来的即将到来的水文变化。它还将为科学界提供一个新的参考研究场所，并开发新一代水文模型。最后，这些计划将向至少五名总部基地人员提供北方研究专业知识，他们将准备支持加拿大面对气候变化的不利影响。

As climate warming drives rapid cryosphere decay in mountain environments, it is leading to major hydrological changes that affect biodiversity, water resources, and ecosystem services. These adverse impacts are observed as far as hundreds of kilometers downstream of the water sources as mountainous cryospheric features (e.g. glaciers) represent major sources of water in rivers during the hot and dry months of the year. Despite the urgent necessity for adaptation strategies, there is still a clear need for reliable projections of these hydrological changes. The lack of understanding of hydrological processes in glacierized catchments is the most cited cause for the limited accuracy in projections. In this context, the long-term objective of my proposed research program is to improve the understanding of hydrological processes in alpine glacierized catchments in order to improve predictions of future changes in water resources in a reliable way. Five sub-objectives are proposed, three focus on the scale of a study watershed: (i) quantifying the contributions and processes that control watershed outflows from features such as rock glaciers, debris-covered ice, and icings; (ii) characterizing the interconnections between these features, groundwater and surface runoff; and (iii) characterizing their susceptibility to climate change. And two sub-objectives focus on the regional scale: (iv) measuring and intercomparing the extent and evolution of those features across multiple watersheds; and (v) developing a regional overview of cryosphere-hydrologic interactions. My research program will focus on the St-Elias Mountains in southwest Yukon, and the study site will be the Grizzly Creek, a 32 km2 glacierized catchment situated in the Kluane National Park and Reserve. The study site has many interrelated cryospheric features which make it well suited for the proposed program's sub-objectives. Research will follow a multimethod approach utilizing a mix of existing techniques (e.g. geophysics, environmental tracers, remote sensing) and of new cutting-edge methods that will be developed through the program (e.g. thermal imagery, icing monitoring). The proposed research program integrates a unique combination of methods to be applied in a remote but hydrologically important region of Canada. Some of the proposed methods are very innovative and, once developed and tested, will be applicable for other fields of cold region hydrology. The program will provide Northern communities with improved understanding of hydrological processes in alpine glacierized catchments to better anticipate the coming hydrological changes due to climate warming. It will also serve the scientific community providing a new reference research site, and in developing a new generation of hydrological models. Finally, the programs will provide northern research expertise to at least five HQP, who will be prepared to support Canada in facing the adverse impacts of climate change.