Transcript The Data of the Observations at the Kolyma Water Balance

The Data of the Observations at the Kolyma
Water Balance Station:
the Potential of their Application in Academic
and Applied Problems and the Need for the
Resumption of Special Surveys
O.M. Semenova
State Hydrological Institute; Gidrotehproekt Ltd, St. Petersburg, Russia
L.S. Lebedeva
St. Petersburg State University; Nansen Centre, St.Petersburg, Russia
I.N. Beldiman
"Khotugu Oruster" (the North Rivers), Yakutsk, Russia
Water balance stations of the former USSR
29 water balance stations covered main natural zones of USSR
but the only one was situated in the permafrost environments
Kolyma water balance station
(KWBS)
Natural conditions
• Mean air temperature is -11,40С
• Mean annual precipitation 320 mm
• Elevation ranges 800-1700 m
• Variety of landscapes
• Continuous permafrost with the thickness up to 400 m
• Representative for the vast territories of Upper Kolyma River Basin
Scheme and
instrumentation
31 cryopedometers; 25 precipitation gauges; 8 discharge
gages; 3 experimental plots; 2 meteorological stations; 5
transects of snow surveys…
List of the measurements
Measured
parameters
Observatio
n period
Temporal
resolution
Number of
stations
Stream flow
1948–cont.
Minute
Daily
7
Meteorological
observations
1948–cont.
3h
2
Precipitation
1948–1997
Minute
Pentad, decade in winter, daily in summer
Decade
Month
10
5
10
10
Snow surveys
1948–1997
Monthly (October – March), decadely
(April…)
5
Evapotranspiration
1958–1997
Pentade
4
Snow evaporation
1958–1997
September – October, March – April (12hourly)
1
Pan evaporation
1970–1997
Decade
1
Energy balance
1958–1997
Decade
1
Soil freezing/thawing
1958–1997
Once in 5 days
31
Soil temperature at
depths 0.1 – 3.2 m
1974–1981
Daily
1
Flow water chemistry
1958–1997
Event based
2
Variety of the landscapes
Bare rocks
Bush tundra
Deep active layer,
Subsurface runoff
Larch forest
Shallow active layer,
surface runoff
Riparian vegetation
www.hydrograph-model.ru
Bare rocks
Typical
profiles
Bushsoil
tundra
Bare rocks
Bush tundra
cm
Bare rocks
Sparse fo
Larch forest
Sparse forest
Larch forest
Sparse forest
10
20
cm
cm
30
10
40
20
50
30
60
40
70
10
20
30
40
50
50
80
6060
90
7070
100
8080
9090
moss and lichen
100
100
Soil horizons:
peat
moss and lichen
moss and lichen
clay inclusion of rocks
peat
bedrock
peat
clay inclusion of rocks
Brief station history
(from the heroic start in 1947 to the pity finish in 1997)
• 1947 – watershed Kontaktovy was chosen as a suitable one for
organization of observations on the basis of extensive field studies of
the several regions in the Upper Kolyma River basin
• 1948, May - beginning of the meteorological (2 sites) and
hydrological (3 gages) observations
• 1949-1960 – development of precipitation gages network (20
gages). Extension of hydrological observation up to 6 gages. Start of
measurements of evaporation from soil and snow, soil
thawing/freezing, observation in experimental plots.
• 1957 – arrival of modern equipment, staff increase, construction
of dwellings, partial electrification
• 1968 – start of the measurements in the Morozova
Creek basin, that is covered by bare rock entirely
Brief station history
(from heroic start in 1947 to pity finish in 1997)
1969 – renaming from “Runoff station” to “Water Balance station”
that means increasing and deepening goals and objectives –
comprehensive experimental studies of land hydrological cycle
1978 – snow observations in surrounding avalanche catchments;
snow stratigraphy, temperature and mechanical properties at the 4 sites
1980 - ice blister dynamics measurements
1982 – observations at the agricultural hydrological plots including
soil moisture measurements
By 1989 there are:
30 issues of observational material and archive;
more than 100 scientific papers and books;
dozens of Phd thesis
USSR – USA collaboration
In May, 1977 American scientists Charles Slaughter and Michael Bilello
from Fairbanks visited KWBS. Their impressions:
Article in the famous Soviet newspaper “Pravda”
(“True”)
Photos and text from:
United States – Soviet Scientific Exchange Visit, 1977
United States – Soviet Scientific
Exchange Visit, 1977
United States – Soviet Scientific Exchange Visit, 1977.
Signed agreement about future cooperation
Current state of the KWBS
According to information provided by Evgeniy Bojarintsev, former
director of KWBS, who till now is in contact with people from Magadan:
“KWBS in itself have not existed for many years, since 1996. There
are just three hydrologists for the whole Kolyma district – and they are
in administration. Only shortcut meteorological observations are
conducted. Data repository burned in the fire in the station, its copy in
local administration is lost after the building repair...
There is a catastrophic situation in the station: the nearest village
was liquidated 10 years ago and there is no transport in the station…
What is the next?
Are we able to continue the mission of our predecessor?
Who will continue the series of observations?
Studies that have been conducted in the KWBS
 Water balance components, rainfall runoff formation
(Bojarintsev, Nikolaev , Suschansky, Nasybulin, Kuznetsov, Glotov,
Glotova)
 Contribution of ground condensation in the water balance
(Bojarintsev, Kuznetsov , Bantsekina)
 Vegetation its connection with hydrological regime (Korolev,
Pugachev)
 Thermal and water regime of macrofragmental deposits
(Bantsekina , Mikhailov )
 Surface-ground water interaction (Glotov, Glotova)
 Modelling studies (Shmakin, Kuchment, Gelfan, Gusev,
Nasonova, Semenova, Lebedeva)
And others
Modelling studies
Kuchment et al., 2000: Comparison between
measured (squares) and calculated (lines) snow
depths
Shmakin, 1998: Measured (solid
line) and modeled (dashed line)
Soil Temperature.1976–1977
0
-0.5
-0.5
м
0
-1
-1
-1.5
-1.5
07.1963
01.1964
07.1964
01.1965
07.1965
01.1966
m
01.1981
01.1982
01.1983
рассчитанная
наблюденная
рассч итан
Semenova&Lebedeva;
Simulated
(pink and green) and observedнаблюденная
(black) thawing depths
9
9
17.5
175
Prospects of use of the KWBS data
 Developing and testing of different models: runoff
formation, climatic, environmental and vegetation dynamics
 Climate change studies and assessment of its impact on
the permafrost state and the hydrological regime of rivers
for the last 50 years
 Experimental studies of specific permafrost processes
 Developing and testing of calculation methods for the
needs of construction as KWBS is representative for vast
territories
Conclusions
The unique observational data collected at the KWBS are
still not used enough and require further researches.
The
authors
acknowledge
the
support of the TICOP’s organizers,
sponsors and PYRN for the provided
opportunity to attend the Conference.
Thank you for attention!