Snow water equivalent in the Alps as seen by gridded data sets, CMIP5 and CORDEX climate models
The estimate of the current and future conditions of snow resources in mountain areas would require reliable, kilometre-resolution, regional-observation-based gridded data sets and climate models capable of properly representing snow processes and snow–climate interactions. At the moment, the develo...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:371c1043715f4d83a2a23adcd7263152 2023-05-15T18:32:29+02:00 Snow water equivalent in the Alps as seen by gridded data sets, CMIP5 and CORDEX climate models S. Terzago J. von Hardenberg E. Palazzi A. Provenzale 2017-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1625-2017 https://doaj.org/article/371c1043715f4d83a2a23adcd7263152 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/1625/2017/tc-11-1625-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-11-1625-2017 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/371c1043715f4d83a2a23adcd7263152 The Cryosphere, Vol 11, Pp 1625-1645 (2017) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1625-2017 2022-12-31T01:41:41Z The estimate of the current and future conditions of snow resources in mountain areas would require reliable, kilometre-resolution, regional-observation-based gridded data sets and climate models capable of properly representing snow processes and snow–climate interactions. At the moment, the development of such tools is hampered by the sparseness of station-based reference observations. In past decades passive microwave remote sensing and reanalysis products have mainly been used to infer information on the snow water equivalent distribution. However, the investigation has usually been limited to flat terrains as the reliability of these products in mountain areas is poorly characterized. This work considers the available snow water equivalent data sets from remote sensing and from reanalyses for the greater Alpine region (GAR), and explores their ability to provide a coherent view of the snow water equivalent distribution and climatology in this area. Further we analyse the simulations from the latest-generation regional and global climate models (RCMs, GCMs), participating in the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment over the European domain (EURO-CORDEX) and in the Fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) respectively. We evaluate their reliability in reproducing the main drivers of snow processes – near-surface air temperature and precipitation – against the observational data set EOBS, and compare the snow water equivalent climatology with the remote sensing and reanalysis data sets previously considered. We critically discuss the model limitations in the historical period and we explore their potential in providing reliable future projections. The results of the analysis show that the time-averaged spatial distribution of snow water equivalent and the amplitude of its annual cycle are reproduced quite differently by the different remote sensing and reanalysis data sets, which in fact exhibit a large spread around the ensemble mean. We find that GCMs at spatial resolutions equal to ... Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Gar’ ENVELOPE(162.014,162.014,57.140,57.140) The Cryosphere 11 4 1625 1645 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 S. Terzago J. von Hardenberg E. Palazzi A. Provenzale Snow water equivalent in the Alps as seen by gridded data sets, CMIP5 and CORDEX climate models |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The estimate of the current and future conditions of snow resources in mountain areas would require reliable, kilometre-resolution, regional-observation-based gridded data sets and climate models capable of properly representing snow processes and snow–climate interactions. At the moment, the development of such tools is hampered by the sparseness of station-based reference observations. In past decades passive microwave remote sensing and reanalysis products have mainly been used to infer information on the snow water equivalent distribution. However, the investigation has usually been limited to flat terrains as the reliability of these products in mountain areas is poorly characterized. This work considers the available snow water equivalent data sets from remote sensing and from reanalyses for the greater Alpine region (GAR), and explores their ability to provide a coherent view of the snow water equivalent distribution and climatology in this area. Further we analyse the simulations from the latest-generation regional and global climate models (RCMs, GCMs), participating in the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment over the European domain (EURO-CORDEX) and in the Fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) respectively. We evaluate their reliability in reproducing the main drivers of snow processes – near-surface air temperature and precipitation – against the observational data set EOBS, and compare the snow water equivalent climatology with the remote sensing and reanalysis data sets previously considered. We critically discuss the model limitations in the historical period and we explore their potential in providing reliable future projections. The results of the analysis show that the time-averaged spatial distribution of snow water equivalent and the amplitude of its annual cycle are reproduced quite differently by the different remote sensing and reanalysis data sets, which in fact exhibit a large spread around the ensemble mean. We find that GCMs at spatial resolutions equal to ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
S. Terzago J. von Hardenberg E. Palazzi A. Provenzale |
author_facet |
S. Terzago J. von Hardenberg E. Palazzi A. Provenzale |
author_sort |
S. Terzago |
title |
Snow water equivalent in the Alps as seen by gridded data sets, CMIP5 and CORDEX climate models |
title_short |
Snow water equivalent in the Alps as seen by gridded data sets, CMIP5 and CORDEX climate models |
title_full |
Snow water equivalent in the Alps as seen by gridded data sets, CMIP5 and CORDEX climate models |
title_fullStr |
Snow water equivalent in the Alps as seen by gridded data sets, CMIP5 and CORDEX climate models |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snow water equivalent in the Alps as seen by gridded data sets, CMIP5 and CORDEX climate models |
title_sort |
snow water equivalent in the alps as seen by gridded data sets, cmip5 and cordex climate models |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1625-2017 https://doaj.org/article/371c1043715f4d83a2a23adcd7263152 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(162.014,162.014,57.140,57.140) |
geographic |
Gar’ |
geographic_facet |
Gar’ |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 11, Pp 1625-1645 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/1625/2017/tc-11-1625-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-11-1625-2017 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/371c1043715f4d83a2a23adcd7263152 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1625-2017 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
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11 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1625 |
op_container_end_page |
1645 |
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