Snow hydrology in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains

Abstract

Study region: Atlas Mountains located in Morocco. Study focus: Mountainous regions constitute an area of water production, while water is used in downstream plains. In Central Morocco, the Atlas Mountains represent the most important water supply in the country. The solid part of precipitation forms seasonal snowpack. Snowmelt is important for the water supply for different uses in neighbouring plains. Accurate knowledge of snow water equivalent is key information needed by policy-makers to help design and implement appropriate allocation strategies for water resource management. The objective of this paper is to provide a summary of our research activities on snow hydrology in the Atlas Mountains during the past twenty years. The approach combines in situ measurements, remote sensing, and modeling. New hydrological insights for the region: Following a description of the context of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains and the experimental network, an overview of the main results obtained is presented: the characterization of the spatiotemporal dynamics of snow cover; the impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the snow-covered area; the snowmelt contribution to the flows of the Atlas rivers; the contribution of snowmelt to surface and groundwater recharge and the quantification of climate change impacts on snow and associated runoff from the Atlas Mountains. We also present challenges and future research perspectives within this topic.

Keywords

• Snow hydrology
• Remote sensing
• Snowpack
• Semiarid areas
• Moroccan Atlas Mountains