The importance of a hydrological research framework for water balance studies in mountain basins

Abstract

is the combined outcome of both the 2001 EGS ses-sion on the ‘Water balance of mountain basins’ in Nice and the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Ger-man Hydrological Working Group in Berlin. A variety of hydrological and meteorological research top-ics presented at these meetings focused on water resources, modelling, parameterization, remote sens-ing, snow and ice melt, evaporation and transpiration. Case studies concentrated especially on moun-tain areas, which ranged in altitude from 1500 to 6000 m, and on a variety of regions, such asthe Himalayas, Karakorum, Hindukush, Yemen Mountain Massif, Norwegian Scandes and Alps. Theanalysis of water balance components was conducted at many different temporal and spatial scales,ranging from annual and seasonal to daily and hourly, and from entire basins to single lysimetricanalyses.The current discussion about climatic–hydrologic change and bio-adaptability reflects the necessityfor more comprehensive and more detailed knowledge about water balance in mountain basins. Sincemountain watersheds are source areas for large rivers, an understanding of the water balance is invalu-able. This should include a variety of components, such as water input, water storage, water loss, andwater transfer potentials on steep, heterogeneous surfaces. Many of the associated processes are insuf-ficiently investigated, although they are of major significance for both hydrologists and water resourcemanagers.AIMIt is the aim of this special issue to present a diverse range of topics and research areas in order to revealthe wide spectrum of research topics and methods on water balance studies in mountain basins. These stud-ies demonstrate both the success and the emerging difficulties and shortcomings in different research fields.Examples from the developed and from the developing world not only promote comparisons, but also newideas about the availability and transferability of methods.