Inhaltsbereich
Forschungsprojekte
Present and future runoff generation on debris covered glaciers in the upper Aksu catchment, China
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Fachgebiet: Fernerkundung, Geländekampagne, Geländemessungen, Hochgebirgsforschung, Hydrologie, Hydrologische Modellierung Gefördert durch: DFG Förderkennzeichen: HA 5061/2-1 Projektleitung: Hagg, W. Projektwissenschaftler: , , Dr. Christoph Mayer, Martin Juen (KfG BAdW) Laufzeit: 06/2010 - 05/2013 |
The overall objective of the project is to quantify ablation and meltwater runoff on debris covered glaciers in the Aksu basin.
A conceptual runoff model will be applied to simulate current conditions and future changes in the hydrological cycle. The model will be driven with observed and modelled climate data.
To quantify the complex physical melt processes on a debris covered glacier, a simple distributed ablation model will be developed and applied on a selected glacier. For this purpose, a bundle of field measurements has to be carried out to collect empirical data. A morphometric analysis of the glacier surface will help to statistically capture the areal distribution of topographic features that influence debris thickness, thermal resistance and consequently ablation. Remote sensing techniques, using high resolution satellite imagery, will be used to extrapolate the ground truth results to the whole ablation area and to map and classify melt-relevant surface types.
As a result, an applicable method will allow the estimation of ablation on a debris covered glacier by combining field data, remote sensing information and a statistical-morphometrical approach. By implementing the ablation model into the runoff model, an instrument capable to reproduce runoff from moraine covered glaciers will be created.