Simulierter zeitlicher Schneedeckenverlauf und Schneedeckendauer des Oberen Pinzgau berechnet auf Basis eines mehrfach validierten hydrologischen Modells

Abstract

Summary: The catchment area of the Upper Salzach above the Mittersill river-flow gauge has been studied using the hydrological model PREVAH. The model was multi-validated in a previous study, on the basis of hourly flow recordings, remote-sensing data of snow distribution and using glacier mass-balance records. The results obtained from the model include the various components making up flow, such as direct runoff from rainfall, runoff from snow and glacier melt and flow from groundwater reservoirs, as well as glacier mass balances and information on the spatial distributed snow cover condition. Compared with adjusted mean snow-cover duration distributions, generated from point measurements, for certain periods in time, this method offers the great advantage of permitting the generation of snow-cover duration curves, validated on the basis of water balance, and this for individual years. The depletion curves exhibit a fairly varying behaviour for the years when the balance was studied, thus reflecting variations in weather conditions. The number of days of 100% snow cover varied between 7 days for 2002-03 and 107 days for the balance year 1999-2000. The mean snow-cover duration has been calculated to be 230 days for the study period (October 1999 to September 2005), which is 14 days shorter than the mean value calculated from station records for the period 1961 to 1990. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.