Evaposublimation from the snow in the Mediterranean mountains of Sierra Nevada (Spain)

Herrero, Javier; Polo, María José

doi:10.5194/tc-10-2981-2016

Cited by 59 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…At the Andes and Spanish Sierra Nevada sites, sublimation represents approximately 39% and 29% of total accumulated snow, respectively (SF4); similar losses have been reported for the Spanish Sierra Nevada (Herrero and Polo, 2016). Energy losses are also very high in the Atlas Mountains, where sublimation represents 25% of total snow accumulation, consistent with Boudhar et al (2016) who estimate that sublimation represents 20% of total accumulation in the Atlas Mountains.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas

López‐Moreno¹,

Gascoin

Herrero

et al. 2017

Environ. Res. Lett.

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In this study we quantified the sensitivity of snow to climate warming in selected mountain sites having a Mediterranean climate, including the Pyrenees in Spain and Andorra, the Sierra Nevada in Spain and California (USA), the Atlas in Morocco, and the Andes in Chile. Meteorological observations from high elevations were used to simulate the snow energy and mass balance (SEMB) and calculate its sensitivity to climate. Very different climate sensitivities were evident amongst the various sites. For example, reductions of 9%-19% and 6-28 days in the mean snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow duration, respectively, were found per°C increase. Simulated changes in precipitation (±20%) did not affect the sensitivities. The Andes and Atlas Mountains have a shallow and cold snowpack, and net radiation dominates the SEMB; and explains their relatively low sensitivity to climate warming. The Pyrenees and USA Sierra Nevada have a deeper and warmer snowpack, and sensible heat flux is more important in the SEMB; this explains the much greater sensitivities of these regions. Differences in sensitivity help explain why, in regions where climate models project relatively greater temperature increases and drier conditions by 2050 (such as the Spanish Sierra Nevada and the Moroccan Atlas Mountains), the decline in snow accumulation and duration is similar to other sites (such as the Pyrenees and the USA Sierra Nevada), where models project stable precipitation and more attenuated warming. The snowpack in the Andes (Chile) exhibited the lowest sensitivity to warming, and is expected to undergo only moderate change (a decrease of <12% in mean SWE, and a reduction of < 7 days in snow duration under RCP 4.5). Snow accumulation and duration in the other regions are projected to decrease substantially (a minimum of 40% in mean SWE and 15 days in snow duration) by 2050.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas

López‐Moreno¹,

Gascoin

Herrero

et al. 2017

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…This traditional observation device can be considered a modified version of a lysimeter and is widely used to measure snow evaporation mainly because it is simple, inexpensive, portable, and comparatively accurate (Froyland, ; Hachikubo, ; Jackson & Prowse, ). The snow evaporation pans used here were similar to those of Herrero and Polo (), but without a melting measurement. For more accurate measurements, two types of evaporation pan were made: circular type made of polyvinyl chloride with a diameter of 30 cm (706.5 cm 2 in area), and a square box type made of sheet iron, with an open top exposing a surface of 625 cm 2 (25 × 25 cm).…”

Section: Field Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both the profile method and the bulk method have been applied to quantify turbulent fluxes and sublimation (e.g., Ayala et al, ; Conway & Cullen, ; Herrero & Polo, ). Compared to the profile method, the bulk method is more widely used because it is insensitive to observation errors (Munneke et al, ; Yang et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple Parameterization of Aerodynamic Roughness Lengths and the Turbulent Heat Fluxes at the Top of Midlatitude August‐One Glacier, Qilian Mountains, China

Guo

Chen

et al. 2018

JGR Atmospheres

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The fluxes of sensible heat (H) and latent heat (LE), which are generally the important parts of the energy and mass balances over glacier surfaces, are widely quantified by the bulk method. However, due to the difficulty of determining the aerodynamic roughness length z 0m in this method, H and LE values may still have large uncertainties with significant inaccuracy. To acquire reliable varying and intrinsic z 0m values, new simpler parameterizations for z 0m values at different ranges of the friction velocity u *b were fitted in this study. The method was implemented using the related meteorological data and glacial sublimation/condensation measured at the top of the August-one glacier (4817 m asl) in the Qilian Mountains from 1 July 2016 to 15 August 2017. The parameterization shows that z 0m increased sharply when u *b exceeded 0.43 m/s (the approximate threshold value) and that the effect of snowdrift was slight for the hourly z 0m values in the range 0.15 ≤ u *b ≤ 0.43 m/s, which could thus be used to calculate the daily z 0m . During the wet period (, the turbulent fluxes calculated by the bulk method showed that net radiation R net was the primary source of surface energy (60.7 w/m 2 ), whereas during the dry period (25 September 2016 to 4 May 2017), the main heat sink was the positive H (28.5 w/m 2 ) rather than the negative R net (À10.0 w/m 2 ). Plain Language SummaryThe profile method and the bulk method have been applied to quantify turbulent fluxes and sublimation/condensation, and the bulk method is more widely used because it is insensitive to observation errors. However, determination of the aerodynamic roughness lengths in the bulk method remains a large challenge. So we tried to acquire reliable varying and intrinsic roughness length for momentum through its parametric analysis. The related meteorological data and glacial sublimation/ condensation were measured over a mountain glacier. Hourly roughness lengths in the transitional range affected slightly by snowdrift were found with the approximate threshold value. The comparison provided here verifies that these values are reliable, although this method is relatively rough. The z 0m parameterization can be regarded as an important basis of turbulent heat flux research. Therefore, in addition to z 0m parameterization, it can also be very meaningful to further discuss the temporal variation of meteorology and turbulent heat fluxes. Further research is needed and very important to improve our understanding of energy and mass exchange between the glacier surface and atmosphere, especially in arid and semiarid regions.

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“…This process is called evaposublimation (Herrero and Polo, 2016). 30 The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org /10.5194/tc-2019-31 Manuscript under review for journal The Cryosphere Discussion started: 28 February 2019 c Author(s) 2019.…”

Section: Enso Events (2014 Vs 2015) and Sublimation Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainties in the spatial distribution of snow sublimation in the semi-arid Andes of Chile

Réveillet¹,

MacDonell²,

Gascoin

et al. 2019

Preprint

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In the semi-arid Andes of Chile, farmers and industry in the cordillera lowlands depend on water from 15 snowmelt, as annual rainfall is insufficient to meet their needs. Despite the importance of snow cover for water resources in this region, understanding of snow depth distribution and snow mass balance is limited. Whilst the effect of wind on snow cover pattern distribution has been assessed, the relative importance of melt versus sublimation has only been studied at the point-scale over one catchment. Analyzing relative ablation rates and evaluating uncertainties are critical for understanding snow depth sensitivity to variations in climate and 20 simulating the evolution of the snow pack over a larger area and over time. Using a distributed snowpack model (SnowModel), this study aims to simulate melt and sublimation rates over the instrumented watershed of La Laguna (3150-5630 m above sea level, 30°S), during two hydrologically contrasted years. The model is calibrated and forced with meteorological data from nine Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) located in the watershed, and atmospheric simulation outputs from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. 25 Results of simulations indicate first a large uncertainty in sublimation ratios depending on the forcing. The melt/sublimation ratios increased by 100% if forced with WRF compared to AWS data due to the cold bias and precipitation over-estimation observed in WRF output in this region. Second, the simulations indicate similar sublimation ratios for both years, but ratios vary with elevation with a relative increase in melt at higher elevations. Finally results indicate that snow persistence has a significant impact on the sublimation ratio due to 30 The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.10 et al., 2001; Gascoin et al., 2013; S. MacDonell et al., 2013). Consequently, quantifying snow mass balance processes are crucial for predicting current water supply rates, and for informing future projections. Despite the importance of snow cover for water resources in this region, there is currently a limited understanding of snow depth distribution and mass balance, largely due to the difficulty of accurately measuring and modeling both accumulation and ablation processes in this area (Gascoin et al., 2011). Temperature index models have 15 been shown to be inadequate to evaluate mass balance processes in the semi-arid Andes, due to the importance of the latent energy flux (Ayala et al., 2017). However, an energy balance model requires a larger input dataset that is often not available in Andean catchments due to the logistical difficulty of Automatic Weather Station (AWS)installation and maintenance. Therefore, the evaluation of alternative methods for acquiring distributed meteorological information is required. Options include the use of interpolation/extrapolation strategies (e.g. 20 MicroMet, Liston and Elder, 2006b), reanalysis (NCEP, Kalnay et al., 1996) or atmospheric model outputs (e.g.Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, Skamarock and Kl...

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Evaposublimation from the snow in the Mediterranean mountains of Sierra Nevada (Spain)

Cited by 59 publications

References 68 publications

Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas

Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas

Simple Parameterization of Aerodynamic Roughness Lengths and the Turbulent Heat Fluxes at the Top of Midlatitude August‐One Glacier, Qilian Mountains, China

Uncertainties in the spatial distribution of snow sublimation in the semi-arid Andes of Chile

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