Quantifying Changes in Snow Melt Conditions and Water Equivalent as Result of Arctic Warming in Linnédalen, Svalbard

• Main Author: Fisher, Olympia CH
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: SCARAB 2021
• Subjects: Svalbard; Rain-on-snow events; Arctic; Linnédalen; permafrost
• Online Access: https://scarab.bates.edu/geology_theses/57; https://scarab.bates.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1056&context=geology_theses

Climate warming has disproportionately been affecting arctic environments due to arctic amplification and atlantification leading to warmer and wetter climates. Increases in precipitation and temperature during the snow melt season have been demonstrated to affect the rate and timing of snow melt in arctic watersheds. The impacts of these climate changes can be seen within the Linnédalen watershed in the Norwegian Archipelago of Svalbard. Rain on snow events examined in this study demonstrate that as precipitation becomes more prevalent in arctic watersheds, snow will melt will occur at higher intensities and conclude earlier in the season than it did historically. Findings demonstrate early signs of a reworking of the hydrologic cycle as higher runoff occurs with additional precipitation and an acceleration of the yearly cycle is caused by melting concluding earlier. Alteration of the hydrologic cycle has the potential to alter environments through erosion, avalanche, changing permafrost conditions, freshening arctic oceans, as well as many other potential impacts.