title: Snowmelt contributions to discharge of the Ganges.
abstract: Himalayan headwaters supply large quantities of runoff derived from snowmelt and monsoon rainfall to the Ganges River. Actual snowmelt contribution to discharge in the Ganges remains conjectural under both present and future climatic conditions. As snowmelt is likely to be perturbed through climatic warming, four hydrological models, VIC, JULES, LPJmL and SWAT, appropriate for coupling with regional climate models, were used to provide a baseline estimate of snowmelt contribution to flow at seasonal and annual timescales. The models constrain estimates of snowmelt contributions to between 1% and 5% of overall basin runoff. Snowmelt is, however, significant in spring months, a period in which other sources of runoff are scarce.
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University & Research Centre, Center for Water and Climate, Wageningen, 6708PB, Netherlands. Electronic address: christian.siderius@wur.nl.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Siderius
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University & Research Centre, Center for Water and Climate, Wageningen, 6708PB, Netherlands.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Biemans
authors.affiliation: Met Office Hadley Centre, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, Devon, EX1 3PB, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wiltshire
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Department of Civil Engineering, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110 016, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University & Research Centre, Center for Water and Climate, Wageningen, 6708PB, Netherlands.
authors.forename: W H P
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Franssen
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstraße 53, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Met Office Hadley Centre, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, Devon, EX1 3PB, UK.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Gosain
authors.affiliation: Wageningen University & Research Centre, Center for Water and Climate, Wageningen, 6708PB, Netherlands.
authors.forename: M T H
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: van Vliet
authors.affiliation: University of Salford, School of Environment & Life Sciences, Salford Crescent, Manchester, M5 4WT, UK.
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D002980:Climate; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007194:India; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D012621:Seasons; D012914:Snow; D014872:Water Movements; D062066:Water Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Elevation; Ganges; Himalaya; JULES; LPJmL; SWAT; Snowmelt contribution; VIC