Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Streamflow timing of mountain rivers in spain: recent changes and future projections

Published inJournal of hydrology, vol. 517, p. 1114-1127
Publication date2014
Abstract

Changes in streamflow timing are studied in 27 mountain rivers in Spain, in the context of climate warming. The studied rivers are characterized by a highflows period in spring due to snowmelt, although differences in the role of snow and consequently in the timing of flows are observed amongst cases. We calculated for every year of the studied period (1976-2008) two hydrological indices that enable locating the timing of spring flows within the annual hydrologic regime, i.e. the day of 75 per cent of mass, and the day of spring maximum. The evolution of these indices was compared with that of seasonal precipitation and temperature, and trends in time were calculated. Results show a general negative trend in the studied indices which indicates that spring peaks due to snowmelt are shifting earlier within the hydrological year. Spring temperatures, which show a significant increasing trend, are the main co-variable responsible for the observed changes in the streamflow timing. In a second set of analyses we performed hydrological simulations with the SWAT model, in order to estimate changes in streamflow timing under projected warming temperatures. Projections show further shifting of spring peak flows along with a more pronounced low water level period in the summer. The simulations also allowed quantifying the role of snowfall snowmelt on the observed changes in streamflow.

Keywords
  • Iberian mountains
  • Streamflow timing
  • Peak flows
  • Snowmelt
  • Climate warming
Funding
  • European Commission - Assessment of Climatic change and impacts on the Quantity and quality of Water [212250]
Citation (ISO format)
MORAN, Enrique et al. Streamflow timing of mountain rivers in spain: recent changes and future projections. In: Journal of hydrology, 2014, vol. 517, p. 1114–1127. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.06.053
Main files (1)
Article (Accepted version)
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
Journal ISSN0022-1694
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483downloads

Technical informations

Creation07/07/2014 12:55:00
First validation07/07/2014 12:55:00
Update14/03/2023 21:26:06
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