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The effect of subarctic conditions on water resources: initial results and limitations of the SWAT model applied to the Kharaa River Basin in Northern Mongolia

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Abstract

In Northern Mongolia, water resources are stressed by an increasing water demand for water supply in households, agriculture and mining as well as by climate and land-use changes. This study aims to obtain a better understanding of the complex hydrological processes in the semiarid, subarctic Kharaa River Basin (KRB). Therefore, the water balance components and the characteristic patterns of the river hydrograph were systematically analyzed to identify the stream flow generating processes in the catchment. The distributed, physically-based Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was employed for simulation of stream flow under the particular hydrological conditions. During the period 1991–2002, roughly 87 % of precipitation (P = 216–417 mm/year) was lost due to evaporation, leaving only a small portion of water available for stream flow and groundwater recharge. The Kharaa’s hydrograph shows striking recurring patterns. River runoff in summer occurs as a response to strong summer rainfall events while stream flow generation in spring is almost exclusively driven by the melt of snow and river icings. This results in an inter-seasonal redistribution of water resources being effective for stream discharge in spring rather than in winter. Due to frozen soils, stream flow in spring is mainly generated by surface runoff and interflow. The thawing of the active layer during summer allows increased groundwater recharge. Stream flow during winter is reduced by continuously forming aufeis. Our results show that SWAT satisfactorily reflects stream flow for single years but is not reliable for a longer time period. Melt water from snow and icings could not be sufficiently simulated. The analysis reveals that refinements of SWAT are required, e.g. coupling a river ice model in order to deal with the subarctic situation in the KRB.

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Acknowledgments

The results presented in this paper are based on the research and development project ‘Integrated Water Resources Management in Central Asia: Model Region Mongolia’, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the framework of the FONA (Research for Sustainable Development) initiative (Grant No. 033L003). We acknowledge the support provided by the Project Administration Jülich (PTJ) and the BMBF/International Bureau in the context of the ‘Assistance for Implementation’ (AIM) scheme. The authors also like to thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) that gave financial support in form of a PROMOS scholarship for a research stay in Mongolia. We also gratefully acknowledge the critical comments by two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit Forest Resources and Management, WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Lisa Hülsmann

  2. Department Applied Geology, Geoscience Centre, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Lisa Hülsmann & Tobias Geyer

  3. Department Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Christian Schweitzer & Jörg Priess

  4. Department Aquatic Ecosystems Analysis and Management, Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research UFZ, Brückstrasse 3a, 39114, Magdeburg, Germany

    Daniel Karthe

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  1. Lisa Hülsmann
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  3. Christian Schweitzer
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Correspondence to Lisa Hülsmann.

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Hülsmann, L., Geyer, T., Schweitzer, C. et al. The effect of subarctic conditions on water resources: initial results and limitations of the SWAT model applied to the Kharaa River Basin in Northern Mongolia. Environ Earth Sci 73, 581–592 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3173-1

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