Analysing the contribution of snow water equivalent to the terrestrial water storage over Canada

• Published in: Hydrological Processes
• Main Authors: Bahrami, Ala, Goïta, Kalifa, Magagi, Ramata
• Other Authors: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2019
• Subjects: Canada; Hudson; Hudson Bay; Liard
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13625; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhyp.13625; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hyp.13625; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/hyp.13625

Abstract In this study, the spatial and temporal variabilities of terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) and snow water equivalent anomaly (SWEA) information obtained from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) twin satellites data were analysed in conjunction with multisource snow products over several basins in the Canadian landmass. Snow water equivalent (SWE) data were extracted from three different sources: Global Snow Monitoring for Climate Research version 2 (GlobSnow2), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer‐Earth Observing System (AMSR‐E), and Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC). The objective of the study was to understand whether SWE variations have a significant contribution to terrestrial water storage anomalies in the Canadian landmass. The period was considered from December 2002 to March 2011. Significant relationships were observed between TWSA and SWEA for most of the 15 basins considered (53% to 80% of the basins, depending on the SWE products considered). The best results were obtained with the CMC SWE products compared with satellite‐based SWE data. Stronger relationships were found in snow‐dominated basins ( R s > = 0.7), such as the Liard [root mean square error (RMSE) = 21.4 mm] and Peace Basins (RMSE = 26.76 mm). However, despite high snow accumulation in the north of Quebec, GRACE showed weak or insignificant correlations with SWEA, regardless of the data sources. The same behaviour was observed in the Western Hudson Bay basin. In both regions, it was found that the contribution of non‐SWE compartments including wetland, surface water, as well as soil water storages has a significant impact on the variations of total storage. These components were estimated using the Water‐Global Assessment and Prognosis Global Hydrology Model (WGHM) simulations and then subtracted from GRACE observations. The GRACE‐derived SWEA correlation results showed improved relationships with three SWEA products. The improvement is particularly important in the sub‐basins of the Hudson Bay, ...