Projected Streamflow and Sediment Supply under Changing Climate to the Coast of the Kalu River Basin in Tropical Sri Lanka over the 21st Century
Tropical countries are already experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change. This study presents projections of climate change-driven variations in hydrology and sediment loads in the Kalu River Basin, Sri Lanka. Bias-corrected climate projections (i.e., precipitation and temperature) from thr...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/21/3031 |
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| author | T.A.J.G. Sirisena Shreedhar Maskey Janaka Bamunawala Erika Coppola Roshanka Ranasinghe |
| author_facet | T.A.J.G. Sirisena Shreedhar Maskey Janaka Bamunawala Erika Coppola Roshanka Ranasinghe |
| author_sort | T.A.J.G. Sirisena |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tropical countries are already experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change. This study presents projections of climate change-driven variations in hydrology and sediment loads in the Kalu River Basin, Sri Lanka. Bias-corrected climate projections (i.e., precipitation and temperature) from three high resolution (25 km) regional climate models (viz., RegCM4-MIROC5, MPI-M-MPI-ESM-MR, and NCC-NORESM1-M) are used here to force a calibrated hydrological model to project streamflow and sediment loads for two future periods (mid-century: 2046–2065, and end of the century: 2081–2099) under two representative concentration pathways (i.e., RCPs 2.6 and 8.5). By the end of the century under RCP 8.5, all simulations (forced with the three RCMs) project increased annual streamflow (67–87%) and sediment loads (128–145%). In general, streamflow and sediment loads are projected to increase more during the southwest monsoon season (May–September) than in other periods. Furthermore, by the end of the century, all simulations under the RCP 8.5 project a shift of streamflow and sediment loads in the southwest monsoon peak from May to June, while preserving the peak in the inter-monsoon 2 (in October). The projected changes in annual sediment loads are greater than the projected changes in annual streamflow (in percentage) for both future periods. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:49:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-be0e1c9003b74aed9188f723b1250f38 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:49:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-be0e1c9003b74aed9188f723b1250f382023-11-22T21:54:17ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-10-011321303110.3390/w13213031Projected Streamflow and Sediment Supply under Changing Climate to the Coast of the Kalu River Basin in Tropical Sri Lanka over the 21st CenturyT.A.J.G. Sirisena0Shreedhar Maskey1Janaka Bamunawala2Erika Coppola3Roshanka Ranasinghe4IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The NetherlandsIHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The NetherlandsIHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The NetherlandsEarth System Physics Section, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), 11, I-34151 Trieste, ItalyIHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The NetherlandsTropical countries are already experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change. This study presents projections of climate change-driven variations in hydrology and sediment loads in the Kalu River Basin, Sri Lanka. Bias-corrected climate projections (i.e., precipitation and temperature) from three high resolution (25 km) regional climate models (viz., RegCM4-MIROC5, MPI-M-MPI-ESM-MR, and NCC-NORESM1-M) are used here to force a calibrated hydrological model to project streamflow and sediment loads for two future periods (mid-century: 2046–2065, and end of the century: 2081–2099) under two representative concentration pathways (i.e., RCPs 2.6 and 8.5). By the end of the century under RCP 8.5, all simulations (forced with the three RCMs) project increased annual streamflow (67–87%) and sediment loads (128–145%). In general, streamflow and sediment loads are projected to increase more during the southwest monsoon season (May–September) than in other periods. Furthermore, by the end of the century, all simulations under the RCP 8.5 project a shift of streamflow and sediment loads in the southwest monsoon peak from May to June, while preserving the peak in the inter-monsoon 2 (in October). The projected changes in annual sediment loads are greater than the projected changes in annual streamflow (in percentage) for both future periods.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/21/3031Kalu river basinregional climate modelsstreamflowsediment loads |
| spellingShingle | T.A.J.G. Sirisena Shreedhar Maskey Janaka Bamunawala Erika Coppola Roshanka Ranasinghe Projected Streamflow and Sediment Supply under Changing Climate to the Coast of the Kalu River Basin in Tropical Sri Lanka over the 21st Century Water Kalu river basin regional climate models streamflow sediment loads |
| title | Projected Streamflow and Sediment Supply under Changing Climate to the Coast of the Kalu River Basin in Tropical Sri Lanka over the 21st Century |
| title_full | Projected Streamflow and Sediment Supply under Changing Climate to the Coast of the Kalu River Basin in Tropical Sri Lanka over the 21st Century |
| title_fullStr | Projected Streamflow and Sediment Supply under Changing Climate to the Coast of the Kalu River Basin in Tropical Sri Lanka over the 21st Century |
| title_full_unstemmed | Projected Streamflow and Sediment Supply under Changing Climate to the Coast of the Kalu River Basin in Tropical Sri Lanka over the 21st Century |
| title_short | Projected Streamflow and Sediment Supply under Changing Climate to the Coast of the Kalu River Basin in Tropical Sri Lanka over the 21st Century |
| title_sort | projected streamflow and sediment supply under changing climate to the coast of the kalu river basin in tropical sri lanka over the 21st century |
| topic | Kalu river basin regional climate models streamflow sediment loads |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/21/3031 |
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