CA17109 “Understanding and modeling compound climate and weather events” COST Action, STSM Title: "Investigation of Climate Change Impact on the Rain on Snow Events"
AB Destekli Diğer Projeler, 2019 - 2019
- Proje Türü: AB Destekli Diğer Projeler
- Başlama Tarihi: Mart 2019
- Bitiş Tarihi: Mart 2019
Proje Özeti
Floods that are triggered by the so-called rain on snow events can have enormous economic damage and can endanger human lives. The main characteristic of this kind of events is that after a (longer) snow period we have a rain event that does not necessary has to have extreme characteristics. This means that because a lot of snow is accumulated in the catchment this can be regarded as potential runoff water. In combination with warm air temperature and high humidity, this can produce a rapid melt of accumulated snow pack. Thus, a combination of snowmelt and cumulative rainfall can increase the magnitude of runoff event and consequently lead to large economic damage due to floods. Moreover, these kind of events are also difficult to forecast and consequently issue flood warnings. Similarly, also flood risk assessment for rain on snow events is a challenging task. Moreover, rain on snow events can also be regarded as one of the possible combinations of compound events since a combination of accumulated snow, warmer air temperature and rain leads to floods.
A temperature increase, related to climate changes in the future, is expected to influence the runoff dynamics in different parts of the world. Consequently, this will probably lead to changed dynamics of the rain on snow floods. However, since the seasonal rainfall pattern is also expected to change it is not clear how will this affect the magnitudes, frequency, and seasonality of the rain on snow events. More specifically, additional analysis and modelling should be carried out in order to investigate climate change effects on the rain on snow events. The main aim of the research will be to investigate if the magnitude and frequency of the so-called rain on snow events will increase or decrease in the future and if there will be any shift in the seasonality characteristics of rain on snow floods. Therefore, the main scientific question that will be investigated in this study is: Can we in the future due to climate change expect changes in the frequency, magnitudes, and seasonality of the so-called rain on snow events?
Another motivation related to the STSM application is to improve cooperation between two research institutions, namely the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering and Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Engineering. More specifically, we want to enhance the cooperation between the two research groups that are interested in different hydrological issues. In the future, we could expect improved cooperation, either by a joint research project (e.g., a bilateral project between Slovenia and Turkey) or by the exchange of researchers. Thus, we could have a chance for examining and researching the hydrological issues from a broad scientific perspective.