Snow Depth and Snow Density at Resolute, Northwest Territories

Longley, Richmond W.

doi:10.3189/s0022143000018037

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…After that, snow deposition proceeds slowly. In the Arctic, such equilibrium profiles are quickly established on flat areas (Longley, 1960), hilltops and convex or straight slopes. Gullies, valleys and concave slopes can accommodate substantial snow, so that equilibrium profiles are seldom attained.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of weather station snowfall with winter snow accumulation in high arctic basins

et al. 1983

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Most water balance studies in the High Arctic indicate that the weather stations underestimate annual precipitation, but the magnitude of such error is unknown. Based on up to seven years of field measurements, this study provides a comparison of snowfall at weather stations with the winter snow accumulation in their nearby drainage basins.Snowfall is the major form of precipitation in the polar region for nine months every year. Without vegetation, snowdrift is controlled by the local terrain. By establishing the snow characteristics for different terrain types, total basin snow storage can be obtained by areally weighting the snow cover for various terrain units in the basin. Such a method was successfully employed to compute total winter snowfall in the drainage basins near Resolute, Eureka and Mould Bay. Results show that the basins had 130 to 300per cent more snow than the weather stations recorded. Using revised snowfall values that are reinforced by Koerner's snow core measurements from ice-caps, it is hoped that a more realistic precipitation map can be provided for the High Arctic.RÉSUMÉ La plupart des études entreprises sur le bilan hydrologique de l'arctique ont révélé que les stations météorologiques sousestiment la précipitation annuelle, la grandeur de cette erreur n'est cependant pas connu. On effectue dans la présente étude, à partir de données recueillies au cours de sept années, une comparaison entre les hauteurs de neige prélevées aux stations et celles accumulées dans les bassins de drainage à proximité de ces stations.Dans la région polaire, la précipitation principale est sous forme de neige et ceci au cours de neuf mois de l'année. En l'absence de végétation, la distribution de la congère est dictée par le relief local. En établissant les caractéristiques de la neige pour différents types de terrain, on a pu calculer l'accumulation de la neige totale du bassin en pondérant la surface de la couverture nivale par les diverses unités de terrain du bassin. Cette méthode a été appliquée avec succès pour le calcul de la hauteur totale de la neige au cours de l'hiver dans les bassins de drainage de Resolute, Eureka et Mould Bay. Les résultats indiquent que les bassins reçoivent des hauteurs de neige qui excèdent de 130 à300pourcent ceux rapportées par les stations météorologiques. En utilisant des valeurs corrigées des chutes de neige, confirmées par les mesures de Koerner à partir des carottes de neige des calottes glaciaires, on espère dresser des cartes plus réalistes de la précipitation dans l'arctique. Comparison of Weather Station Snowfall With Winter Snow Accumulation / 313 1 IntroductionAccurate information on annual precipitation is essential for water balance studies, both on a local and a regional scale (Lvovitch, 1973;Walker and Lake, 1975). Dingman ( 1973) documented many studies in the Canadian Arctic that despaired at the inaccuracies of precipitation data (e.g. Hare and Hay, 1974). Unless such basic information as winter snowfall can be established reliably, any research on water ...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of weather station snowfall with winter snow accumulation in high arctic basins

et al. 1983

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“…The data collected by Gold (1958) and Longley (1960) were used by Verseghy (1991) to derive an expression for the increase in snowpack density as a function of the snowpack density and the length of the time step as follows:…”

Section: Existing Snow Processes and Alternative Methods Implemented mentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications during transitional periods of improvements to the snow processes in the land surface scheme ‐ hydrological model WATCLASS

Fassnacht

Soulis

2002

Atmosphere-Ocean

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“…To represent snow ageing, the snow density increases exponentially with time from a fresh snow value of 100-300 kg m -3 , according to an expression derived from the field measurements of Longley (1960) and Gold (1958). CLASS treats refreezing of percolating melt-water or rain, which can lead to increases in snow density.…”

Section: The Canadian Land Surface Schemementioning

confidence: 99%

On the Arctic near-surface permafrost and climate sensitivities to soil and snow model formulations in climate models

Paquin

Sushama

2014

Clim Dyn

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Snow Depth and Snow Density at Resolute, Northwest Territories

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Comparison of weather station snowfall with winter snow accumulation in high arctic basins

Comparison of weather station snowfall with winter snow accumulation in high arctic basins

Implications during transitional periods of improvements to the snow processes in the land surface scheme ‐ hydrological model WATCLASS

On the Arctic near-surface permafrost and climate sensitivities to soil and snow model formulations in climate models

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