Snowmelt Lysimeters for Real-Time Snowmelt Studies in Turkey

Authors: A. EMRE TEKELİ, A. ARDA ŞORMAN, AYNUR ŞENSOY, A. ÜNAL ŞORMAN, J. BONTA, G. SCHAEFER

Abstract: Snowmelt lysimeters collect and measure the meltwater that is released from the snowpack. The data recorded from a snowmelt lysimeter are valuable for the formulation of the physical basis of modules of a snowmelt runoff model. There are few snow studies on the eastern region of Turkey in basins that feed the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. The design and performance evaluation of the first real-time snowmelt lysimeter in this region is presented in this paper. Detailed information about the snowmelt lysimeter designs in the literature is also summarized. The water released from the monitored snowpack is evaluated on hourly and daily bases and compared with rain and snow-water equivalent values. The snowmelt lysimeter performed well, matching streamflow trends in large basins. Data from rain-on-snow, rainfall-only, and snowmelt-only events could be explained by the lysimeter and other data. The lysimeter rainfall catch (about 5% greater than a rain gauge) was similar to rainfall measurements from a soil-block lysimeter in the USA. This paper contributes to the literature by documenting the first near real-time snow lysimeter research in eastern Turkey. The results are useful for improving the design for other areas in this understudied portion of the world, where snowmelt contributes the major portion of runoff.

Keywords: Snowmelt lysimeter, Real-time monitoring, Snowmelt modeling, Turkey

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