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Evaluation of water resources by snow storage using water balance and tank model method in the Tedori River basin of Japan

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Abstract

We evaluate water resources as the difference between the observed and virtual discharges, defined as discharge without snow storage during the snowfall and snowmelt season, in the Tedori River basin of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The virtual discharge was estimated using the Tank model, in which parameters of calculated discharge were determined when the predictions were consistent with the observed discharges except for those during snowfall and snowmelt periods. Precipitation increase factors, i.e., the ratio of precipitation in the basin to that of a Kanazawa site, ranged from 1.46 to 2.00 with an average of 1.68. Water resources by snow storage (WRSS) during 31 years from July 1976 to June 2006 were estimated to be 400–1,500 mm in depth, which could be considered a significant amount. WRSS gradually decreased over time from 1976 to 2006. We propose the water balance method to estimate WRSS and water resources by snowmelt (WRSM), which easily estimates these parameters without the need for any detailed analysis of hydrograph as that of the Tank model. If snowfall decreases due to global warming, we suggest this area would suffer an irrigation water shortage under the water right, especially in the early spring.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Ishikawa Agriculture and Forestry Office, Land Improvement District of Shichika and Miyatake and Ishikawa Prefectural Power Management Office for the basic data collection. We also express our sincere thanks to all the other members in our project. This research was carried out as part of a project called “Research on a normal hydrologic cycle based on irrigation water in the Tedori River basin due to Global Warming,” supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ishikawa Prefectural University, 1-308 Suematsu, Nonoichi-machi, Ishikawa, 921-8836, Japan

    Noto Fumikazu, Maruyama Toshisuke, Hayase Yoshio & Takimoto Hiroshi

  2. Kyoto University, Agricultural Science, Oiwake, Yoshida, Sakyou-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Nakamura Kimihito

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  1. Noto Fumikazu
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  2. Maruyama Toshisuke
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  3. Hayase Yoshio
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  4. Takimoto Hiroshi
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  5. Nakamura Kimihito
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Correspondence to Noto Fumikazu.

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Fumikazu, N., Toshisuke, M., Yoshio, H. et al. Evaluation of water resources by snow storage using water balance and tank model method in the Tedori River basin of Japan. Paddy Water Environ 11, 113–121 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-011-0297-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-011-0297-8

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