Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components
Meltwater from mountainous catchments dominated by snow and ice is a valuable source of fresh water in many regions. At mid-latitudes, seasonal snow cover and glaciers act like a natural reservoir by storing precipitation during winter and releasing it in spring and summer. Snowmelt is usually model...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:16923e253de940f787e1c7e8e0faa346 2023-05-15T18:32:28+02:00 Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components M. F. Ismail W. Bogacki M. Disse M. Schäfer L. Kirschbauer 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-211-2023 https://doaj.org/article/16923e253de940f787e1c7e8e0faa346 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/211/2023/tc-17-211-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-211-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/16923e253de940f787e1c7e8e0faa346 The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 211-231 (2023) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-211-2023 2023-01-22T01:39:14Z Meltwater from mountainous catchments dominated by snow and ice is a valuable source of fresh water in many regions. At mid-latitudes, seasonal snow cover and glaciers act like a natural reservoir by storing precipitation during winter and releasing it in spring and summer. Snowmelt is usually modelled either by energy balance or by temperature-index approaches. The energy balance approach is process-based and more sophisticated but requires extensive input data, while the temperature-index approach uses the degree-day factor (DDF) as a key parameter to estimate melt of snow and ice merely from air temperature. Despite its simplicity, the temperature-index approach has proved to be a powerful tool for simulating the melt process especially in large and data-scarce catchments. The present study attempts to quantify the effects of spatial, temporal, and climatic conditions on the DDF of snow in order to gain a better understanding of which influencing factors are decisive under which conditions. The analysis is based on the individual energy flux components; however, formulas for estimating the DDF are presented to account for situations where observed data are limited. A detailed comparison between field-derived and estimated DDF values yields a fair agreement with bias = 0.14 mm ∘ C −1 d −1 and root mean square error (RMSE) = 1.12 mm ∘ C −1 d −1 . The analysis of the energy balance processes controlling snowmelt indicates that cloud cover and snow albedo under clear sky are the most decisive factors for estimating the DDF of snow. The results of this study further underline that the DDF changes as the melt season progresses and thus also with altitude, since melting conditions arrive later at higher elevations. A brief analysis of the DDF under the influence of climate change shows that the DDFs are expected to decrease when comparing periods of similar degree days, as melt will occur earlier in the year when solar radiation is lower, and albedo is then likely to be higher. Therefore, the DDF cannot be treated ... Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 17 1 211 231 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
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Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 M. F. Ismail W. Bogacki M. Disse M. Schäfer L. Kirschbauer Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Meltwater from mountainous catchments dominated by snow and ice is a valuable source of fresh water in many regions. At mid-latitudes, seasonal snow cover and glaciers act like a natural reservoir by storing precipitation during winter and releasing it in spring and summer. Snowmelt is usually modelled either by energy balance or by temperature-index approaches. The energy balance approach is process-based and more sophisticated but requires extensive input data, while the temperature-index approach uses the degree-day factor (DDF) as a key parameter to estimate melt of snow and ice merely from air temperature. Despite its simplicity, the temperature-index approach has proved to be a powerful tool for simulating the melt process especially in large and data-scarce catchments. The present study attempts to quantify the effects of spatial, temporal, and climatic conditions on the DDF of snow in order to gain a better understanding of which influencing factors are decisive under which conditions. The analysis is based on the individual energy flux components; however, formulas for estimating the DDF are presented to account for situations where observed data are limited. A detailed comparison between field-derived and estimated DDF values yields a fair agreement with bias = 0.14 mm ∘ C −1 d −1 and root mean square error (RMSE) = 1.12 mm ∘ C −1 d −1 . The analysis of the energy balance processes controlling snowmelt indicates that cloud cover and snow albedo under clear sky are the most decisive factors for estimating the DDF of snow. The results of this study further underline that the DDF changes as the melt season progresses and thus also with altitude, since melting conditions arrive later at higher elevations. A brief analysis of the DDF under the influence of climate change shows that the DDFs are expected to decrease when comparing periods of similar degree days, as melt will occur earlier in the year when solar radiation is lower, and albedo is then likely to be higher. Therefore, the DDF cannot be treated ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. F. Ismail W. Bogacki M. Disse M. Schäfer L. Kirschbauer |
author_facet |
M. F. Ismail W. Bogacki M. Disse M. Schäfer L. Kirschbauer |
author_sort |
M. F. Ismail |
title |
Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components |
title_short |
Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components |
title_full |
Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components |
title_fullStr |
Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components |
title_full_unstemmed |
Estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components |
title_sort |
estimating degree-day factors of snow based on energy flux components |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-211-2023 https://doaj.org/article/16923e253de940f787e1c7e8e0faa346 |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 211-231 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/211/2023/tc-17-211-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-211-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/16923e253de940f787e1c7e8e0faa346 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-211-2023 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
211 |
op_container_end_page |
231 |
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1766216590727053312 |