---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
_id: '22529'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Mountainous catchments cover a broad range of elevations and their response
    to a warming climate is expected to vary significantly in space. Nevertheless,
    studies on climate change impacts typically examine the changes in flow statistics
    only at the catchment outlet. In this study, we instead demonstrate the high variability
    of the hydrological response to climate change at the sub-catchment scale, investigating
    in detail the contribution of all components of the hydrological cycle in two
    mountainous catchments (Thur and Kleine Emme) in the Swiss Alps. The analysis
    was conducted with a two-dimensional weather generator model that simulated gridded
    climate variables at an hourly and 2-km resolution until the end of the 21st century
    for the RCP8.5 emission scenario. The climate ensemble was used as input into
    a distributed hydrological model to estimate the changes in hydrological processes
    at 100-m and hourly resolutions. Climate models show that precipitation intensifies
    during winter but weakens during summer in the order of ± 5–10% toward the end
    of the century. Temperature will rise by up to 4°C, leading to a 50% reduction
    in snowmelt, 10% increase in evapotranspiration, and shift in precipitation type
    from snowfall to rainfall. As a result, streamflow is projected to increase by
    40% in winter but decrease by 20% to 40% during summer, with winter floods becoming
    more frequent. The changes to streamflow (mean and extreme low and high flows)
    at the sub-catchments show a strong dependency with elevation. In contrast to
    the small changes projected at the outlet of the catchments, streamflow shows
    a reduction at higher elevations (up to −20% change in mean streamflow for sub-catchments
    at elevations exceeding 1400 m) and an increase at lower elevations (up to +5%
    for Kleine Emme and +20% for the Thur at elevations below 600 m). These impacts
    are tied to the changes in precipitation, as well as changes in snowmelt (at high
    elevation) and evapotranspiration (at low elevation). The results reveal the causes
    and diversity of hydrological response to climate change, emphasizing the importance
    of investigating the distributed impacts of climate change in mountainous environments.
article_number: '126806'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Jorge Sebastián
  full_name: Moraga, Jorge Sebastián
  last_name: Moraga
- first_name: Nadav
  full_name: Peleg, Nadav
  last_name: Peleg
- first_name: Simone
  full_name: Fatichi, Simone
  id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
  last_name: Fatichi
- first_name: Peter
  full_name: Molnar, Peter
  last_name: Molnar
- first_name: Paolo
  full_name: Burlando, Paolo
  last_name: Burlando
citation:
  ama: Moraga JS, Peleg N, Fatichi S, Molnar P, Burlando P. Revealing the impacts
    of climate change on mountainous catchments through high-resolution modelling.
    <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>. 2021;603. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806">10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806</a>
  apa: Moraga, J. S., Peleg, N., Fatichi, S., Molnar, P., &#38; Burlando, P. (2021).
    Revealing the impacts of climate change on mountainous catchments through high-resolution
    modelling. <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>. Elsevier. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806</a>
  chicago: Moraga, Jorge Sebastián, Nadav Peleg, Simone Fatichi, Peter Molnar, and
    Paolo Burlando. “Revealing the Impacts of Climate Change on Mountainous Catchments
    through High-Resolution Modelling.” <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>. Elsevier, 2021.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806</a>.
  ieee: J. S. Moraga, N. Peleg, S. Fatichi, P. Molnar, and P. Burlando, “Revealing
    the impacts of climate change on mountainous catchments through high-resolution
    modelling,” <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>, vol. 603. Elsevier, 2021.
  ista: Moraga JS, Peleg N, Fatichi S, Molnar P, Burlando P. 2021. Revealing the impacts
    of climate change on mountainous catchments through high-resolution modelling.
    Journal of Hydrology. 603, 126806.
  mla: Moraga, Jorge Sebastián, et al. “Revealing the Impacts of Climate Change on
    Mountainous Catchments through High-Resolution Modelling.” <i>Journal of Hydrology</i>,
    vol. 603, 126806, Elsevier, 2021, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806">10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806</a>.
  short: J.S. Moraga, N. Peleg, S. Fatichi, P. Molnar, P. Burlando, Journal of Hydrology
    603 (2021).
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:24Z
date_published: 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-06T14:31:25Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806
extern: '1'
intvolume: '       603'
keyword:
- Catchment modelling
- Climate change impacts
- Weather generator
- Distributed hydrological model
- Streamflow extremes
- Hydrological response
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126806
month: '12'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: Journal of Hydrology
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1879-2707
  issn:
  - 0022-1694
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Revealing the impacts of climate change on mountainous catchments through high-resolution
  modelling
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by_nc_nd.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
    (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
  short: CC BY-NC-ND (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 603
year: '2021'
...