Coupling the Glacio-hydrological Degree-day Model (GDM) with PCRaster for spatial dynamic modeling of Himalayan river basins

Abstract

We have seen a surge in glacio-hydrological modeling efforts in the past few decades. This form of modeling is also being carried out in the Himalayan river basins, but a comprehensive high-resolution simulation software that can be effective with a limited number of hydrometeorological data is recommended. In this regard, an open-source, scalable, flexible, and distributed modeling system called PyGDM has been developed by fully coupling the Glacio-hydrological Degree-day Model with PCRaster Python software. To evaluate the potential of using this model in the Himalayan river basins, we calibrated and then validated the model for Trishuli River basin using geographical data and the existing hydrometeorological data. The tests showed a promising result with respect to the effective application of the model in the entire Himalayan region. The PyGDM source code was optimized and adapted to the process models of glacier melting and hydrological processes in Himalayan basins. It increased the speed of the simulation, made the model highly scalable to accommodate new submodels, and enhanced the flexibility of the model to ingest various types of input data and parameters. Hence, the PyGDM model strives to simulate the glacio-hydrological processes of the entire Himalayan region.