Climate change impacts on hydrological processes in Norway based on two methods for transferring regional climate model results to meteorological station sites

Climate change impacts on hydrological processes in Norway have been estimated through combination of results from the IPCC SRES A2 and B2 emission scenarios, global climate models from the Hadley Centre and the Max-Planck Institute, and dynamical downscaling using the RegClim HIRHAM regional climate model. Temperature and precipitation simulations from the regional climate model were transferred to meteorological station sites using two different approaches, the delta change or perturbation method and an empirical adjustment procedure that reproduces observed monthly means and standard deviations for the control period. These climate scenarios were used for driving a spatially distributed version of the HBV hydrological model, yielding a set of simulations for the baseline period 1961-1990 and projections of climate change impacts on hydrological processes for the period 2071-2100. A comparison between the two methods used for transferring regional climate model results to meteorological station sites is provided by comparing the results from the hydrological model for basins located in different parts of Norway. Projected changes in runoff are linked to changes in the snow regime. Snow cover will be more unstable and the snowmelt flood will occur earlier in the year. Increased rainfall leads to higher runoff in the autumn and winter.