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Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

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Peer-reviewed publication

Investigating the applicability of WEB-DHM to the Himalayan river basin of Nepal

A distributed biosphere hydrological model, WEB-DHM has been evaluated from point scale to basin scale at a sub-basin of Himalayan river (The Dudhkoshi river basin of Nepal). At point scale (Syangboche CEOP reference site), the model performance was carefully checked by the longterm hourly upward shortwave radiation (USR) and soil surface temperature (ST). In general, the model performed well in the point scale simulation but it was found that the USR was underestimated and the ST was overestimated during highly snow-covered days. The results were successfully improved by modifications of albedo and bulk soil heat capacity. For basin scale simulation, the model can reproduce the seasonal variation of the discharges at the basin outlet, but needs further improvements in snow accumulation for better representation of snowmelt runoff in the basin.