6-Data Observation for Snow Melt Runoff Assessment.

Abstract

The contribution of snow melt runoff to rivers is an extremely important element since it augments their discharges during the lean season when the water demands are also usually high. This also reduces the variability in tbe river flows thereby reducing the requirement of storage capacity for meeting the demand. For proper planning and management of water resources of such rivers, accurate assessment of snow melt contribution and its seasonal/periodic predictions are apriori. To achieve this end, systematic data observation and a comprehensive and reliable database is a must. Various numerical methods are available for estimation and prediction of snow melt runoff They are based on either the temperature index or energy budget. In this paper, various parameters characterising the snowpack as well as those responsible for snow melt are described. Equipment installed at Batote and Chilla Top Observatories are also described.