Estimation of snowmelt runoff using remote sensing and SRM Model in Saqqez Watershed

The importance of snow and its water equivalent in water resources supply has caused many studies and researches to measure snow characteristics and runoff. Conducted in the Saqqez  Watershed, this research attempted to estimate snow–induced runoff in a mountainous area and the SRM Model was selected to simulate daily runoff from snow-melt. Based on the data and variables for four consecutive years of 2006 to 2009 collected and snowmelt runoff was estimated. MODIS satellite images were used to calculate the snow coverage area. After segregating the snow coverage from the images, the daily snow area was calculated using GIS, and along with the other variables, imported into the model. For better evaluation of efficiency of the model, the model was calibrated and validated. The process of calibration was led to the best estimate for each parameter. To evaluate the accuracy of model and comparing results with field data Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient and the percentage difference were used. The results of the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient were between 0.90 to 0.94 and the differences in the volume were 6.8 to 7.2 percent, which indicates the high-performance of modeling.