A Distributed Snow-Evolution Modeling System (SnowModel)

Liston, Glen E.; Elder, Kelly

doi:10.1175/jhm548.1

Cited by 464 publications

(612 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…A main objective of snow-hydrological modeling is to estimate the total amount of snow water equivalent (SWE) and to predict the snow melt water run-off originating from the snow. There exists a large range of snow model types, from physical deterministic spatial distributed models [e.g., Lehning et al, 2006;Liston and Elder, 2006] and lumped snowmelt models including the concept of the areal depletion curve [Luce et al, 1999] to pure statistical models using sums of correlated gamma distributed variables [Skaugen, 2007].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hysteretic dynamics of seasonal snow depth distribution in the Swiss Alps

Egli¹,

Jonas²

2009

Geophysical Research Letters

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The dynamics of the spatial snow distribution is a key feature when investigating a seasonal snow cover on the catchment scale. This study explores the spatial variability of snow depth during the course of snow accumulation and depletion, based on daily data from 77 weather stations in the Swiss Alps during 6 consecutive seasons. We derive a statistical description of the snow cover dynamics by analyzing temporal trajectories in plots of the standard deviation σ() over mean , where xi is a set of snow depth measurements on one particular day. The analysis reveals that the evolution of σ() closely follows a power law σ() = 0.84±0.01 during the accumulation period for all 6 winters. However, during snowmelt, the trajectory of σ() displays a clearly different path as with classical hysteresis phenomena. Surprisingly, a simplistic model of uniform melting describes this path reasonably well. We believe that the conceptual framework outlined in this study is helpful in describing important characteristics of the dynamics of seasonal snow depth spatial variability. Future studies could apply the methodology introduced here to incorporate stochastic means in modeling snow distribution, even for a broader range of length scales and different alpine terrain.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hysteretic dynamics of seasonal snow depth distribution in the Swiss Alps

Egli¹,

Jonas²

2009

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…We used SnowModel (Liston & Elder, 2006b) along with the MicroMet submodel (Liston & Elder, 2006a) to estimate the snow water equivalent on a regional scale, as well as the water and energy balances. The simulated processes included the following: accumulation of snow; redistribution and sublimation of blowing snow; interception, unloading and sublimation within forest canopies; evolution of the snow density; snowmelt; and energy balance.…”

Section: Description Of the Land Surface Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The meteorological forcings required by SnowModel were provided by MicroMet (Liston & Elder, 2006b), which is a quasi-physically based, high-resolution (e.g. 1-m to 1-km horizontal grid increments) meteorological distribution model.…”

Section: Description Of the Land Surface Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Liston & Elder (2006b) made the required SnowModel modifications for forest canopy snow interception and sublimation to apply the model to forested regions.…”

Section: Modifications Made To Account For the Canopy-intercepted Snomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SnowModel incorporates four submodels: MicroMet (Liston & Elder, 2006a) defines the meteorological forcing conditions; EnBal (Liston, 1995;Liston et al, 2000) calculates the surface energy exchanges; SnowPack (Liston & Hall, 1995;Liston & Elder, 2006b) simulates snow depth and water equivalent evolution; and SnowTran-3D (Liston & Sturm, 1998;Liston et al, 2007) accounts for snow redistribution by wind. Each of these submodels was originally developed and tested for non-forested conditions; therefore, the submodels have been modified for forested areas (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of land-use changes on snow in a forested region with heavy snowfall in Hokkaido, Japan

Suzuki¹,

Kodama²,

Nakai³

et al. 2011

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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We simulated snow processes in a forested region with heavy snowfall in Japan, and evaluated both the regional-scale snow distribution and the potential impact of land-use changes on the snow cover and water balances over the entire domain. SnowModel reproduced the snow processes at open and forested sites, which were confirmed by snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements at two intensive observation sites and snow depth measurements at the Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System sites. SnowModel also reproduced the observed snow distribution (from the MODIS snow cover data) over the simulation domain during thaw. The observed SWE was less at the forested site than at the open site. The SnowModel simulations showed that this difference was caused mainly by differences in sublimation. The type of land use changed the maximum SWE, onset and duration of snowmelt, and the daily snowmelt rate due to canopy snow interception.Key words deforestation; canopy snow interception; sublimation; snowmelt rate; turbulent flux Impact de changements d'occupation du sol sur la neige dans une région forestière fortement enneigée de Hokkaido, Japon Résumé Nous avons simulé les processus neigeux dans une région forestière fortement enneigée au Japon, et évalué à la fois la répartition de la neige à l'échelle régionale et l'impact potentiel des changements d'occupation du sol sur le couvert neigeux et sur le bilan hydrologique pour l'ensemble du domaine. SnowModel reproduit les processus neigeux dans les sites ouverts et forestiers, ce qui est confirmé par des mesures d'équivalent en eau de la neige en deux sites d'observation intensive et des mesures de la profondeur de la neige sur les sites du système automatique d'acquisition de données météorologiques. SnowModel reproduit également la distribution de la neige observée (à partir de données MODIS de couvert neigeux) sur le domaine de la simulation au cours de la fonte nivale. L'équivalent en eau de la neige observé est inférieur pour le site forestier que pour le site ouvert. Les simulations avec SnowModel montrent que cette différence est principalement causée par des différences en matière de sublimation. Le type d'occupation du sol change l'équivalent en eau de la neige maximum, le début et la durée de la fonte nivale, et le taux de fonte journalier en raison de l'interception de la neige par la canopée.

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Potential of a low‐cost sensor network to understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of a mountain snow cover

Pohl

Garvelmann

Wawerla

et al. 2014

Water Resources Research

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The spatial and temporal dynamics of seasonal snow covers play a critical role for many hydrological, ecological, and climatic processes. This paper presents a new, innovative approach to continuously monitor these dynamics using numerous low-cost, standalone snow monitoring stations (SnoMoS). These stations provide snow and related meteorological data with a high temporal and spatial resolution. Data collected by SnoMoS include: snow depth, surface temperature, air temperature and humidity, total precipitation, global radiation, wind speed, and barometric pressure. A total of 99 sensors were placed over the winters 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 at multiple locations within three 40-180 km 2 basins in the Black Forest region of Southern Germany. The locations were chosen to cover a wide range of slopes, elevations, and expositions in a stratified sampling design. Furthermore, ''paired stations'' located in close proximity to each other, one in the open and one underneath various forest canopies, were set up to investigate the influence of vegetation on snow dynamics. The results showed that considerable differences in snow depth and, therefore, snow water equivalent (SWE) are present within the study area despite its moderate temperatures and medium elevation range (400-1500 m). The relative impact of topographical factors like elevation, aspect, and of different types of forest vegetation were quantified continuously and were found to change considerably over the winter period. The recorded differences in SWE and snow cover duration were large enough that they should be considered in hydrologic and climate models.

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A Distributed Snow-Evolution Modeling System (SnowModel)

Cited by 464 publications

References 76 publications

Hysteretic dynamics of seasonal snow depth distribution in the Swiss Alps

Hysteretic dynamics of seasonal snow depth distribution in the Swiss Alps

Impact of land-use changes on snow in a forested region with heavy snowfall in Hokkaido, Japan

Potential of a low‐cost sensor network to understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of a mountain snow cover

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