Catchment hydrology

Running a live stream of proglacial processes

Floreana Miesen and Stuart Lane November 4, 2020

Sampling in the glacier-fed stream near the field camp. Photo: Floreana Miesen

In Switzerland, nothing is really remote, but some places are more so than others. Dense infrastructure networks typically provide convenient access to research sites in the Alps where it is difficult to feel far away from home. However, this is not always the case… For us, our home for the summer is a bit different. We work at 2400 m above sea level in Southern Switzerland, in a narrow vall ...[Read More]

Featured catchment: Water Towers of Mesopotamia: Snow feeding the cultural heritage

EGU Guest blogger October 28, 2020

An aerial view from the water towers of Mesopotamia Credit: Celal Borazan, 08.03.2013 Palandöken Mountain, Erzurum ©️ 2020 TSMS

Importance and challenges of snow modelling in Turkey Snow and glaciers in the high mountains play a crucial role for 1.6 billion people living downstream of mountainous areas. Thus, understanding snow dynamics is crucial for downstream irrigation, hydropower, flood control etc. In eastern Anatolia, Turkey (the mean elevation is around 1140 m), much of the precipitation falls as snow and is retain ...[Read More]

Why social inequalities matter for hydrologists?

Elisa Savelli September 30, 2020

After a few years spent at an Earth Science department researching social inequalities and hydrological extremes — i.e. floods and droughts — I have often been asked these rhetorical questions: “Isn’t it obvious that the weakest individuals or social groups suffer the most in case of extreme hydrological events? So, why should we study these inequalities?” Driven by these questions, and the years ...[Read More]

Featured Catchment: The Weierbach – Yet another temperate forested headwater?

EGU Guest blogger July 29, 2020

Characteristic subsurface structure of the Weierbach regolith from a close-by road cut (Photo: Jérôme Juilleret)

Slate bedrock, an often overlooked system At first sight, the Weierbach catchment may seem unspectacular. It is indeed a small (42 ha) forested headwater catchment, located at mid-latitude in a low mountain range (450-500 m a.s.l.). However, when you take a closer look, and particularly below the surface, the Weierbach is a truly exciting eco-hydrological system. Located in the Luxembourgish Arden ...[Read More]