Land-surface hydrology modelling

Cold Region Hydrological Modelling

The U of S has a long history of excellence and innovation in understanding the hydrology of cold climates. 

In this GIWS video, John Pomeroy and fellow researchers discuss the hydrological research undertaken at the U of S and its application to understanding prairie processes such as snow melt, flooding and drought.

Modelling Riverine Processes

Karl-Erich Lindenschmidt explains how the geomorphology of a river and hydro dams influence ice formation, water quality, fish habitat and other processes, and how our institute researchers are modelling these processes.

Integrated Modelling and Watershed Systems Modelling

Saman Razavi and his research team at GIWS provide an overview of natural and human-driven hydrologic processes occurring at different scales within a watershed system. They outline their research activities for integrated modelling of watershed systems to provide more credible predictions of the future of water resources and to deliver new capabilities for water resources planning and management under climate and environmental changes. 

Atmospheric modelling

Climate Processes

To better understand climate variability and change, GIWS researchers are running a Pseudo Global Warming simulation for Western Canada. Collaborating with scientists with the National Climate and Atmospheric Research centre in the United States, our researchers are working on an historic climate run (2000 - 2015) and a future climate run to 2100 of Rocky Mountain precipitation and convective precipitation over the Prairies. This translation of precipitation to surface hydrology and flooding information will help to clarify the possible effects of climate change on western Canadian water resources.

Select related papers:
Scaff et al. 2015. Inconsistency in precipitation measurements across Alaska and Yukon border, The Cryosphere Discuss., 9, 3709-3739, doi:10.5194/tcd-9-3709-2015

Statistical Downscaling

GIWS researchers have developed statistical downscaling methods for the Prairie Provinces that are improving our ability to generate precipitation and evaporation time-series for future climate scenarios. Detailed multi-model analyses have been made of the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program, providing new insights into the current skill levels of regional climate models, and the model uncertainty associated with future projections. Current work on extreme precipitation and drought is building on the IPCC AR5 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – Fifth Assessment Report) climate model results.

Select related papers:
Khaliq et al. 2015. Seasonal and extreme precipitation characteristics for the watersheds of the Canadian Prairie Provinces as simulated by the NARCCAP multi-RCM ensemble. Clim. Dynam., 44: 255-277, doi 10.1007/s00382-014-2235-0.

Asong et al. 2015. Regionalization of precipitation characteristics in the Canadian Prairie Provinces using large-scale atmospheric covariates and geophysical attributes. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 29: 875-892, doi: 10.1007/s00477-014-0918-z.

Masud et al. 2015. Analysis of meteorological droughts for the Saskatchewan River Basin using univariate and bivariate approaches. Journal of Hydrology, 522: 452-466, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.12.058.

More information coming soon, check back regularly for updates