TRANSFERABILITY OF
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PROCESS AND
MODEL STUDY FINDINGS TO NORTHERN
ENGINEERING DESIGN APPLICATIONS
IP3 Workshop #1
October 19, 2006
J R Janowicz
Water Resources Section
Yukon Department of Environment
Whitehorse, Yukon
WOLF CREEK RESEARCH BASIN
•Established 1992 for Hydrologic Model
Development / Calibration Purposes
•Developed into an Integrated Study of
Hydrometeorological Processes and Climate
Research
WOLF CREEK RESEARCH
State of the Art Cold Regions Process
Studies Carried Out in Wolf Creek
•Precipitation / Snowpack
Variability
•Melt Dynamics
•Frozen Ground Effects
(evapotranspiration,
infiltration, runoff pathways)
•Storage (soil moisture
/groundwater)
•Streamflow Characterization
•Permafrost Distribution
WOLF CREEK RESEARCH
Snowpack Accumulation,
Redistribution and Melt is Variable
•Blowing snow transports 80
% from alpine
•Forest sublimation accounts
for 60 % of snowfall
250
225
200
SWE (mm)
175
•Snowmelt is 300 % faster in
the alpine than forest
Shrub Tundra
Alpine
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
1994
1995
1996
1998
1999
2000
2001
Shrub Tundra
87
111
134
139
179
216
168
Alpine
65
77
35
74
83
29
WOLF CREEK RESEARCH
Studies Indicate that Evapotranspiration
is 50 % Higher in Forested Areas
Cumulative Net Shortwave MJ
400
Tall Buried
350
Short
300
Tall
250
Sub Tall
200
Sub Tall Buried
150
100
50
0
18-Apr
23-Apr
28-Apr
03-May
08-May
13-May
ANVIL RANGE MINING
CORPORATION FARO MINE COMPLEX
•SRK Consulting Ltd
•Deloite &
Touche
•Could we Transfer
Wolf Creek Finding to
Faro Waste Rock
Dumps to Develop a
Water Balance?
Faro Waste Rock Dump
INVESTIGATION OF ANVIL RANGE MINING
CORPORATION (FARO) WASTE DUMP
WATER BALANCE
• Co-Investigators:
– Raoul Granger & Newell Hedstrom (NWRI)
• Overall Objective:
– Estimate Waste Rock Dump Recharge for Determining
Contaminant Seepage
• 2 Year Study
– Year 1: Develop Water Balance using Transposed
Meteorological Data
– Year 2: Develop Water Balance using Site
Meteorological Data
ANVIL RANGE MINING CORP MINESITE
•Abandoned Lead-Zinc
Mine
•3 Waste Rock Dumps
•Faro (334 ha)
•Grum (160 ha)
•Vangorda (71 ha)
ANVIL RANGE MINING CORP MINESITE
•6 HRUs
•Flat
•Slopes (E.W.N.S)
•Bubble
Met Stations
Snow Surveys
% Passing
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.01
V3
V2
V 1A1
V 5F
V 1R
0.1
1
10
100
% Passing
Sieve Size (mm)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.01
G3
G2
G MS
G 2A1
G 1A1
0.1
1
Sieve Size (mm)
10
100
Material
Characterization
Infiltration
Studies
COLD REGIONS HYDROLOGICAL MODEL
Basin
Climate Data
Basin
Data
COLD REGIONS
HYDROLOGICAL MODEL
Sunshine Hours:
Calsun
HRU Climate
Data:Obs
Interception:
Intcp
Shortwave Radiaiton:
Global
SunMax
QdroD
Net
Radiation:Netall
net snow
QdroD
net snow
SunMax
Snow
Transport:
PBSM
Albedo:
Snow
Albedo
Cumnet
Net
Radiation:Net_rn
SWE
net rain
Sublimation:
BrushSubl
meltflag
Evaporation:
Evap
SWE
intercp evap
Snowmelt:
Ebsm
SWE
OR
snowmelt
Frostdepth
Summer
Infiltration:
GreenAmpt
Infiltration:
Fozen
OR
Infiltration:
Crack
Snowmelt:
Kevin
runoff
inflow
OR
Runoff:
Srunoff
infil
Routing:
Route
snowinfil
Soil Moisture:
Smbal
evap
outflow
basinflow
basingw
soil gw
soil ssr
Kstorage
Lag
whereto
order
CUMULATIVE EVAPORATION
180
Evaporation (mm)
160
140
Flat
120
North
100
South
80
East
West
60
Bubble
40
20
0
5/8/05
5/28/05
6/17/05
7/7/05
7/27/05
8/16/05
9/5/05
9/25/05
400
350
Infiltration (mm)
300
Flat
250
North
South
200
East
Cumulative
Infiltration
West
150
Bubble
100
50
0
8/1/04
9/20/04
11/9/04 12/29/04
2/17/05
4/8/05
5/28/05
7/17/05
9/5/05
10/25/05
100
90
R u n o ff (m m )
80
Flat
70
North
60
South
50
East
40
West
30
Bubble
20
10
0
8/1/04
11/9/04
2/17/05
5/28/05
9/5/05
12/14/05
Cumulative
Runoff
SUMMARY
• Snow Accumulation Greater at Grum and
Vangorda Dumps as Compared to Faro
• Rainfall Inf 2x Snowmelt Inf
• Evaporation from Flat and Bubble HRUs 2
– 2.5x other HRUs
• Snowmelt Runoff from South Facing and
Flat HRUs 3x other HRUs
• Annual Recharge 50 – 60% Precipitation
• Rainfall / Soil Moisture Data Support
Recharge Estimates