This study assessed the performances of the traditional temperature-index snowmelt runoff model(SRM) and an SRM model with a finer zonation based on aspect and slope(SRM + AS model) in a data-scarce mountain watershed in the Urumqi River Basin,in Northwest China.The proposed SRM + AS model was used to estimate the melt rate with the degree-day factor(DDF) through the division of watershed elevation zones based on aspect and slope.The simulation results of the SRM + AS model were compared with those of the traditional SRM model to identify the improvements of the SRM + AS model's performance with consideration of topographic features of the watershed.The results show that the performance of the SRM + AS model has improved slightly compared to that of the SRM model.The coefficients of determination increased from 0.73,0.69,and 0.79 with the SRM model to 0.76,0.76,and 0.81 with the SRM + AS model during the simulation and validation periods in 2005,2006,and 2007,respectively.The proposed SRM + AS model that considers aspect and slope can improve the accuracy of snowmelt runoff simulation compared to the traditional SRM model in mountain watersheds in arid regions by proper parameterization,careful input data selection,and data preparation.
Shalamu AbuduZhu-ping ShengChun-liang CuiMuatter SaydiHamed-Zamani SabziJames Phillip King
In this paper,the performance of the classic snowmelt runoff model(SRM)is evaluated in a daily discharge simulation with two different melt models,the empirical temperature-index melt model and the energy-based radiation melt model,through a case study from the data-sparse mountainous watershed of the Urumqi River basin in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.The classic SRM,which uses the empirical temperature-index method,and a radiation-based SRM,incorporating shortwave solar radiation and snow albedo,were developed to simulate daily runoff for the spring and summer snowmelt seasons from 2005 to 2012,respectively.Daily meteorological and hydrological data were collected from three stations located in the watershed.Snow cover area(SCA)was extracted from satellite images.Solar radiation inputs were estimated based on a digital elevation model(DEM).The results showed that the overall accuracy of the classic SRM and radiation-based SRM for simulating snowmeltdischarge was relatively high.The classic SRM outperformed the radiation-based SRM due to the robust performance of the temperature-index model in the watershed snowmelt computation.No significant improvement was achieved by employing solar radiation and snow albedo in the snowmelt runoff simulation due to the inclusion of solar radiation as a temperature-dependent energy source and the local pattern of snowmelt behavior throughout the melting season.Our results suggest that the classic SRM simulates daily runoff with favorable accuracy and that the performance of the radiation-based SRM needs to be further improved by more ground-measured data for snowmelt energy input.
A field experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different emitter discharge rates under drip irrigation on soil salinity distribution and cotton yield in an extreme arid region of Tarim River catchment in Northwest China.Four treatments of emitter discharge rates,i.e.1.8,2.2,2.6 and 3.2 L/h,were designed under drip irrigation with plastic mulch in this paper.The salt distribution in the range of 70-cm horizontal distance and 100-cm vertical distance from the emitter was measured and analyzed during the cotton growing season.The soil salinity is expressed in terms of electrical conductivity(dS/m) of the saturated soil extract(EC e),which was measured using Time Domain Reflector(TDR) 20 times a year,including 5 irrigation events and 4 measured times before/after an irrigation event.All the treatments were repeated 3 times.The groundwater depth was observed by SEBA MDS Dipper 3 automatically at three experimental sites.The results showed that the order of reduction in averaged soil salinity was 2.6 L/h > 2.2 L/h > 1.8 L/h > 3.2 L/h after the completion of irrigation for the 3-year cotton growing season.Therefore,the choice of emitter discharge rate is considerably important in arid silt loam.Usually,the ideal emitter discharge rate is 2.4-3.0 L/h for soil desalinization with plastic mulch,which is advisable mainly because of the favorable salt leaching of silt loam and the climatic conditions in the studied arid area.Maximum cotton yield was achieved at the emitter discharge rate of 2.6 L/h under drip irrigation with plastic mulch in silty soil at the study site.Hence,the emitter discharge rate of 2.6 L/h is recommended for drip irrigation with plastic mulch applied in silty soil in arid regions.
