Search

Summary: The arid lowlands of Central Asia are highly dependent on the water supplied by the Tien Shan mountains. Snow and ice storage make large contributions to current runoff, particularly in summer. Two runoff models with different temporal resolutions, HBV-ETH and OEZ, were applied in three glaciated catchments of the Tien Shan mountains. Scenario runs were produced for a climate change caused by the doubling of atmospheric CO2 as predicted by the GISS global circulation model and assuming a 50% reduction of glaciation extent, as well as a complete loss of glaciation. Agreement of the results was best for runs based on 50% glaciation loss, where both models predict an increase in spring and summer runoff compared to current levels. Scenarios for complete loss of glaciation predict an increase in spring runoff levels, followed by lower runoff levels for July and August. Model predictions differ concerning the degree of reduction of late summer runoff. These scenarios are sensitive to model simulation of basin precipitation, as well as to reduction of glaciation extent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A conceptual precipitation-runoff model was applied in five glacierized catchments in Central Asia. The model, which was first developed and applied in the Alps, works on a daily time step and yields good results in the more continental climate of the Tien Shan mountains for present-day climate conditions. Runoff scenarios for different climates (doubling of CO2) and glacierization conditions predict an increased flood risk as a first stage and a more complex picture after a complete glacier loss: a higher discharge during spring due to an earlier and more intense snowmelt is followed by a water deficiency in hot and dry summer periods. This unfavourable seasonal redistribution of the water supply has dramatic consequences for the Central Asian lowlands, which depend to a high degree on the glacier melt water for irrigation and already nowadays suffer from water shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impacts of projected climate and glacier change on river discharge in five glacierized catchments in the northern Tien Shan, Kazakhstan are investigated using a conceptual hydrological model HBV-ETH. Regional climate model PRECIS driven by four different GCM-scenario combinations (HadGEM2.6, HadGEM8.5, A1B using HadCM3Q0 and ECHAM5) is used to develop climate projections. Future changes in glaciation are assessed using the Blatter–Pattyn type higher-order 3D coupled ice flow and mass balance model. All climate scenarios show statistically significant warming in the 21st Century. Neither projects statistically significant change in annual precipitation although HadGEM and HadCM3Q0-driven scenarios show 20–37% reduction in July–August precipitation in 2076–2095 in comparison with 1980–2005. Glaciers are projected to retreat rapidly until the 2050s and stabilize afterwards except under the HadGEM8.5 scenario where retreat continues. Glaciers are projected to lose 38–50% of their volume and 34–39% of their area. Total river discharge in July–August, is projected to decline in catchments with low (2–4%) glacierization by 20–37%. In catchments with high glacierization (16% and over), no significant changes in summer discharge are expected while spring discharge is projected to increase. In catchments with medium glacierization (10–12%), summer discharge is expected to decline under the less aggressive scenarios while flow is sustained under the most aggressive HadGEM8.5 scenario, which generates stronger melt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaciers are significant fresh water storages in Central Asian high mountains and are considered to substantially contribute to the summer runoff of Central Asian Rivers. We present a comprehensive study of the glacier area changes in the Naryn catchment located in the Tien Shan Mountains. The catchment with a size of 55,944km2 is a major tributary of the Syrdarya River which is heavily used for water supply and irrigation. We analysed the glacier retreat based on Landsat MSS, TM and ETM+imagery for the mid-1970s, late 1990s and mid-2000s and based on a SPOT scene for 2007. Our results show a decreasing glacierisation within the catchment, shrinking from 1210±30km2 (2.2% glacierisation) in the 1970s to 1019±25km2 (1.8% glacierisation) in the late 1990s and further down to 926±23km2 (1.7% glacierisation) in the mid-2000s, corresponding to an area loss of 23% in total. The analysis reveals spatially heterogeneous area loss within the catchment. This can be associated with different hypsometries, size distributions, aspects and presences of debris cover. Small glaciers (with an area<1km2) suffered from a strong area loss within the 30-years investigation period. Trends in air temperature, precipitation and positive degree days (PDD) at climate stations suggest that the glacier retreat is likely to be driven by the increasing summer (April–September) temperature, rather than changes in precipitation: In the period from 1960 to 2007, both summer air temperature and PDDs increased significantly at a rate of 0.19°C/decade and 3.9°C/decade respectively, whilst for precipitation no consistent trends were detected. However, rigorous attribution of changes is complicated by the variable glacier response times. In the two headwater sub-catchments of the Naryn basin, Small and Big Naryn, positive trends in spring and autumn discharge were detected and are likely to be associated with the enhanced snow and glacier melt driven by increasing temperatures in those seasons. However, no discharge trends in August – the month with the largest expected glacier contribution – were detected. The strong, significantly positive trends in winter and early spring runoff are associated with strongly increasing winter temperatures and number of days with maximum daily temperature above the freezing point causing snow melt. Hence, increasing glacier area reduction can be explained by the prolongation of the melting season reducing accumulation rather than by increasing annual mean temperatures. Despite the high relative changes, the absolute increase in winter discharge is very small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]