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Dams and Hydrology
Climate members : Group of climate simulations produced using a single climate model and RCP and whose initial conditions varied slightly.
Climate model : Numeric representation of the climate system based on atmospheric and ocean process modeling.
Climate scenario : Post-processed climate simulation.
Climate simulation : Climate model run for selected parameters and initial conditions.
ClimEx : Large ensemble of climate simulations from the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM5-LE) driven by 50 members of the Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2) for RCP 8.5 (~12km resolution).
CORDEX-NA : COordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment on the North American domain (NA). Set of regional climate simulations, enhanced with CRCM5 simulations carried out by Ouranos and following a similar protocol.
CMIP5 : Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. Group of climate simulations prepared for the Working Group on Coupled Modelling (WGCM) that support the 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. CMIP5 was achieved using various climate models and for different Representative Concentrating Pathways (RCP).
Climate ensemble : Set of climate simulations carried out using different climate models and different RCPs (Representative concentrating paths).
Post-processing : Procedure that aims at correcting or compensating for deviations between climate simulations and reference observations.
RCP : Representative Concentration Pathways. Emission and concentration scenarios of greenhouse gases (GHGs), aerosols, and chemically active gases. The RCP4.5 climate evolution scenario is generally considered “optimistic,” while the RCP8.5 scenario is considered “pessimistic.”
Watershed : Geographic unit
representing the drainage area of a given point
called outlet.
Primary watershed : Main watershed where the
selected river reach is located.
High flow : Period of high flow.
Low flow : Period of low flow.
Mean flow : Average value of flow over a long period of time (month, season, year).
River reach identifier (Riv. reach id.) : Identifier of the modeled river reach.
Indicator : Mathematical expression that quantifies a component of the water regime.
Influence of dam operations : Potential level of influence of upstream dam operations on the flow of a segment. (DOR : degree of regulation)
Optimal interpolation : Data assimilation technique to interpolate flows and hydrological indicators for ungauged river reaches by combining information from hydrological modeling and hydrometric stations.
Hydrological model : Numeric representation of hydrological processes.
Peak flow : Maximum flow value observed during a high flow period.
Portrait : Combination of data from hydrometric stations with hydrological simulations using the optimal interpolation method. The Portrait provides access to time series of daily flow for the period from 1970 until recently, on nearly 10,000 gauged and ungauged river reaches.
Hydroclimatic projections : Set of future climate water regime simulations.
Southern Québec : Refers to southern hydrological Quebec, a territory of 771,403 km2 covering all 40 integrated water management zones by watershed, i.e. all of southern Quebec with the exception of the islands (Montreal, Anticosti, Orléans, etc.).
Recurrence : Long-term average for the statistical return of a given hydrological event.
Time series : Flow time series; time-indexed flow data series.
Drainage area : Area of the modeled watershed upstream of the selected segment.
Volume : Quantity of water carried by a watercourse in a given period of time.
Magnitude : Median value of relative changes produced by various hydroclimatic projections between a future horizon and the reference period.
Change : Relative deviation between an estimated hydrological indicator for a reference period and a future period.
Direction : Proportion of hydrological projections indicating a possible increase (or decrease) of a given indicator.
Dispersion : Interquartile envelope estimate (75th - 25th), which includes half of the probable values that surround the median value (50th). Specifies the dispersion of the signal around the magnitude.
Horizon : Future 30-year period. The 2020 horizon (H20) extends from 2011 to 2040, the 2050 horizon (H50) extends from 2041 to 2070, and the 2080 horizon (H80) extends from 2071 to 2100.
Confidence level : Expert opinion on the capacity of the hydroclimatic modeling chain to reproduce a given indicator.
Reference observation : Value of a hydrological indicator calculated from measured flow for a given reference period.
Reference value : Estimated value of a hydrological indicator during the reference period.
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