Frozen soil hydrological modeling for a mountainous catchment northeast of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Abstract → → → testing of model realism. The complex mountainous Hulu catchment, northeast of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), was selected as the study site. First, we diagnosed the impact of frozen soil on catchment hydrology, based on multi-source field observations, model discrepancy, and our expert knowledge. The following two new typical hydrograph properties were identified: the low runoff in the early thawing season (LRET) and the discontinuous baseflow recession (DBR). Second, we developed a perceptual frozen soil hydrological model to explain the LRET and DBR properties. Third, based on the perceptual model and a landscape-based modeling framework (FLEX-Topo), a semi-distributed conceptual frozen soil hydrological model (FLEX-Topo-FS) was developed. The results demonstrate that the FLEX-Topo-FS model can represent the effect of soil freeze–thaw processes on hydrologic connectivity and groundwater discharge and significantly improve hydrograph simulation, including the LRET and DBR events. Furthermore, its realism was confirmed by alternative multi-source and multi-scale observations, particularly the freezing and thawing front in the soil, the lower limit of permafrost, and the trends in groundwater level variation. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first report of LRET and DBR processes in a mountainous frozen soil catchment. The FLEX-Topo-FS model is a novel conceptual frozen soil hydrological model which represents these complex processes and has the potential for wider use in the vast QTP and other cold mountainous regions.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Frozen soil hydrological modeling for a mountainous catchment northeast of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau ; volume:26 ; number:15 ; year:2022 ; pages:4187-4208 ; extent:22 ; Hydrology and earth system sciences ; 26, Heft 15 (2022), 4187-4208 (gesamt 22)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Gao, Hongkai ; Han, Chuntan ; Chen, Rensheng ; Feng, Zijing ; Wang, Kang ; Fenicia, Fabrizio ; Savenije, Hubert

Further information

• DOI: 10.5194/hess-26-4187-2022
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022081805195269008110
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:22 AM CEST