Water Losses During Technical Snow Production: Results From Field Experiments

Grünewald, Thomas; Wolfsperger, Fabian

doi:10.3389/feart.2019.00078

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…This statement requires a reference L36 in that context it is unclear what is meant with "... by covering snow". Please reformulate; moreover the current review paper of Steiger et al 2017 could be cited in that context; P2 L1-3: there was only little research on snow making (from the science side) in the last decades; most of the innovation came directly from industry; This changed a bit in the last years when the public sector and science began to realize the importance of snow making and snow management and the challenges of climate change for the skiing industry; Examples for recent publications are Hanzer et al 2014, Grünewald and Wolfsperger 2019or Spandre et al 2016 L 6: why is snow storage safer than relying on weather conditions? Please be more concrete here L8-14: For cooling people mainly used lake or river-ice; the cited reference (Nanegast 1990) also seems to refer to ice; snow was (and is still used) in some areas of Asia and Scandinavia.…”

Section: Discussion Papermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If a direct accuracy evaluation of the data is not possible, at least references to earlier studies that assessed TLS accuracy in similar settings should be added, e.g. Prokop et al 2008, Grünewald et al 2010, Grünewald and Wolfsperger 2019 L32 please add for how long the insulation experiments lasted; until end of summer?…”

Section: L5 Provide a Reference To Snow Density Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grünewald¹

2019

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Weiss et al present a case study on over-summer snow storage (snow farming) at two sites in Vermont, US. Melt rates of two small snow piles were calculated from repeated high resolution snow volumes measured with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Meteorological parameters and temperatures in the covering layer were continuously measured. Moreover and they investigate the performance of different settings of covering materials (combination of wood chips, open-cell foam, rigid foam, blanket); It is shown that snow storage seems possible, even at such a low-elevation site. The novelty of the study is the high temporal resolution of the snow volume surveys (14 surveys over summer-season) and the detailed assessment of temperature gradients within the covering-material. Such data have not been presented before. Data and C1 TCD Interactive commentPrinter-friendly version Discussion paper

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Section: Discussion Papermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: L5 Provide a Reference To Snow Density Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grünewald¹

2019

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“…Although the physics of snowmelt has been considered extensively (Dunne and Leopold, 1978;Horne and Kavaas, 1997;Jin et al, 1999), there has been limited application of physical and energy transfer knowledge to the problem of over-summer snow storage (Grünewald et al, 2018). Snowmelt occurs when the snowpack absorbs enough energy to raise snow temperature to the melting point (0 • C) and then absorbs additional energy to enable the phase change from solid to liquid water (0.334 MJ kg −1 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent research at nordic ski centers in Davos, Switzerland, and Martell, Italy (Grünewald et al, 2018), has applied snowmelt physics to optimize over-summer snow storage at high-elevation (∼ 1600 m) and midlatitude (∼ 46 • N) sites. The Davos location has an average summer relative humidity of 79 %.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These snow piles retained 74 % and 63 % of their volume over the summer. Using a physically based model, Grünewald et al (2018) suggested that the most effective cover, in relation to work and cost, was a 40 cm thick layer of mixed wet sawdust and woodchips, which reduced energy input into the pile by a factor of 12 (1504 MJ m −2 without woodchips as opposed to 128 MJ m −2 with woodchips). Deeper cover layers can save more snow, but costs are higher.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optimization of over-summer snow storage at midlatitudes and low elevation

et al. 2019

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Abstract. Climate change, including warmer winter temperatures, a shortened snowfall season, and more rain-on-snow events, threatens nordic skiing as a sport. In response, over-summer snow storage, attempted primarily using woodchips as a cover material, has been successfully employed as a climate change adaptation strategy by high-elevation and/or high-latitude ski centers in Europe and Canada. Such storage has never been attempted at a site that is both low elevation and midlatitude, and few studies have quantified storage losses repeatedly through the summer. Such data, along with tests of different cover strategies, are prerequisites to optimizing snow storage strategies. Here, we assess the rate at which the volume of two woodchip-covered snow piles (each ∼200 m3), emplaced during spring 2018 in Craftsbury, Vermont (45∘ N and 360 m a.s.l.), changed. We used these data to develop an optimized snow storage strategy. In 2019, we tested that strategy on a much larger, 9300 m3 pile. In 2018, we continually logged air-to-snow temperature gradients under different cover layers including rigid foam, open-cell foam, and woodchips both with and without an underlying insulating blanket and an overlying reflective cover. We also measured ground temperatures to a meter depth adjacent to the snow piles and used a snow tube to measure snow density. During both years, we monitored volume change over the melt season using terrestrial laser scanning every 10–14 d from spring to fall. In 2018, snow volume loss ranged from 0.29 to 2.81 m3 d−1, with the highest rates in midsummer and lowest rates in the fall; mean rates of volumetric change were 1.24 and 1.50 m3 d−1, 0.55 % to 0.72 % of initial pile volume per day. Snow density did increase over time, but most volume loss was the result of melting. Wet woodchips underlain by an insulating blanket and covered with a reflective sheet were the most effective cover combination for minimizing melt, likely because the aluminized surface reflected incoming short-wave radiation while the wet woodchips provided significant thermal mass, allowing much of the energy absorbed during the day to be lost by long-wave emission at night. The importance of the pile surface-area-to-volume ratio is demonstrated by 4-fold lower rates of volumetric change for the 9300 m3 pile emplaced in 2019; it lost <0.16 % of its initial volume per day between April and October, retaining ∼60 % of the initial snow volume over summer. Together, these data demonstrate the feasibility of over-summer snow storage at midlatitudes and low elevations and suggest efficient cover strategies.

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Snowmaking in a warmer climate: an in-depth analysis of future water demands for the ski resort Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis (Switzerland) in the twenty-first century

et al. 2022

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Rising air temperatures threaten the snow reliability of ski resorts. Most resorts rely on technical snowmaking to compensate lacking natural snow. But increased water consumption for snowmaking may cause conflicts with other sectors’ water uses such as hydropower production or the hotel industry. We assessed the future snow reliability (likelihood of a continuous 100-day skiing season and of operable Christmas holidays) of the Swiss resort Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis throughout the twenty-first century, where 65% of the area is currently equipped for snowmaking. Our projections are based on the most recent climate change scenarios for Switzerland (CH2018) and the model SkiSim 2.0 including a snowmaking module. Unabated greenhouse gas emissions (scenario RCP8.5) will cause a lack of natural snow at areas below 1800–2000 m asl by the mid-twenty-first century. Initially, this can be fully compensated by snowmaking, but by the end of the century, the results become more nuanced. While snowmaking can provide a continuous 100-day season throughout the twenty-first century, the economically important Christmas holidays are increasingly at risk under the high-emission scenario in the late twenty-first century. The overall high snow reliability of the resort comes at the cost of an increased water demand. The total water consumption of the resort will rise by 79% by the end of the century (2070–2099 compared to 1981–2010; scenario RCP8.5), implying that new water sources will have to be exploited. Future water management plans at the catchment level, embracing the stakeholders, could help to solve future claims for water in the region.

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Water Losses During Technical Snow Production: Results From Field Experiments

Cited by 15 publications

References 54 publications

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Comments and suggestions

Optimization of over-summer snow storage at midlatitudes and low elevation

Snowmaking in a warmer climate: an in-depth analysis of future water demands for the ski resort Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis (Switzerland) in the twenty-first century

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