End of snowmelt season

The hydrograph above shows the recession of snowmelt runoff during the second half of May. The diurnal melt pattern has mostly gone by 24 May, and the subsequent peaks are due to rainfall (51mm rainfall over 26-27 May at Miomote Amedas station). A discharge measurement confirmed no change in the stage-rating curve, which has remained stable for nearly three years now.

Stage = 0.45m, Discharge = 1.18m3/s, Specific discharge = 0.0607 m3/s/km2

JICA field training

JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) participants on the course "Irrigation and Drainage Technology Based on Integrated Water Management" joined me at Takiya River for basic hydrological field survey. We measured discharge in three teams using different equipment and compared the results. Sampling of the channel bed materials using the Wolman Pebble Count was also undertaken. Participants came from various countries in Africa and Asia (Cambodia, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Philippines, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) to study for six months in Japan.

Arakawa from Maruyama Bridge (Sekikawa Village)

Snowmelt season

Today I was joined by participants from my graduate class in Snow Hydrology. We observed the snowmelt runoff condition, and measured the discharge, confirming no changes have occurred in the stage-rating curve.

Above you can see the typical snowmelt runoff pattern in the stage hydrograph. The larger peaks above 0.8m are all connected to rainfall events, while the regular sine-wave fluctuations are due to fine weather snowmelt (e.g. early May). These fluctuations are closely related to the energy balance of the snowpack and the diurnal change in air temperature.