Hydrometeorological effects of intercepted snow in an eastern Siberian taiga forest using a land‐surface model

• Published in: Hydrological Processes
• Main Authors: Yamazaki, Takeshi, Yabuki, Hironori, Ohata, Tetsuo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2007
• Subjects: Midwinter; taiga; Siberia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6675; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fhyp.6675; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hyp.6675

Abstract This study investigates the hydrometeorological effects of intercepted snow in an intensely cold region. Observation of meteorological and hydrological elements in severely cold conditions, such as those in Siberia, is very difficult. One such typical element is that of snow interception. Therefore, this study applies a land surface model, which includes a relatively simple interception model for snowfall, to a taiga forest in eastern Siberia that is dominated by deciduous larch. The simulation demonstrates that solid water storage in the canopy is present from October to March. The finding concurs with photographs of the study site. Intercepted snow and ice decrease rapidly in March because of sublimation. Evaporation is low (0·01–0·05 mm day −1 ) in midwinter because the air temperature is very low. The average ratio of interception evaporation to precipitation is 0·16 in winter (October–March), 0·03–0·09 in midwinter, and 0·57 in March. Net radiation roughly balances with the sensible heat flux in midwinter. The albedo is almost constant at 0·35 in midwinter. Frost is negligible on the canopy in these simulations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.