Better understand mountain hydrology to enhance climate change impact assessment

Catchments of European mountains are essential because of their role to provide water to human society. Mountainous area regulate water flux through a complex system of storage and release, playing the role of water tower. Better understand the dynamic functioning of this system at the scale of each compartment and the relationships between the storage and releasing processes are important to understand the impact induced by climate change. In particular, the disappearance of snow during the winter will potentially modify the low flow water level and ecological flow in late spring and early summer, impacting the ecological services provided by e.g. ponds, peat or wetland. The presented study aims to identify the keys factors and their current role in this hydrological system of the Pyrenean Mountains, and identify critical hydrological conditions that will potentially impact the socio-ecological services related to water resources. This goal has been achieved by a development of a high resolution hydrological modeling framework at the scale of the entire Pyrenean massif, together with the study of lower scale representative systems (peatland) and the development of specific future climate scenarios, in order to suggest mitigation actions and adaptability action through water management.