Assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain
Dynamic natural processes govern snow distribution in mountainous environments throughout the world. Interactions between these different processes create spatially variable patterns of snow depth across a landscape. Variations in accumulation and redistribution occur at a variety of spatial scales,...
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Copernicus Publications
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4907-2022 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4907/2022/tc-16-4907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/92732944ad6d4779a6af33373facae8d |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:92732944ad6d4779a6af33373facae8d 2023-05-15T18:32:17+02:00 Assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain Z. S. Miller E. H. Peitzsch E. A. Sproles K. W. Birkeland R. T. Palomaki 2022-12-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4907-2022 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4907/2022/tc-16-4907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/92732944ad6d4779a6af33373facae8d en eng Copernicus Publications doi:10.5194/tc-16-4907-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4907/2022/tc-16-4907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/92732944ad6d4779a6af33373facae8d undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 4907-4930 (2022) geo envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2022 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4907-2022 2023-01-22T19:11:39Z Dynamic natural processes govern snow distribution in mountainous environments throughout the world. Interactions between these different processes create spatially variable patterns of snow depth across a landscape. Variations in accumulation and redistribution occur at a variety of spatial scales, which are well established for moderate mountain terrain. However, spatial patterns of snow depth variability in steep, complex mountain terrain have not been fully explored due to insufficient spatial resolutions of snow depth measurement. Recent advances in uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) and structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry provide an opportunity to map spatially continuous snow depths at high resolutions in these environments. Using UASs and SfM photogrammetry, we produced 11 snow depth maps at a steep couloir site in the Bridger Range of Montana, USA, during the 2019–2020 winter. We quantified the spatial scales of snow depth variability in this complex mountain terrain at a variety of resolutions over 2 orders of magnitude (0.02 to 20 m) and time steps (4 to 58 d) using variogram analysis in a high-performance computing environment. We found that spatial resolutions greater than 0.5 m do not capture the complete patterns of snow depth spatial variability within complex mountain terrain and that snow depths are autocorrelated within horizontal distances of 15 m at our study site. The results of this research have the potential to reduce uncertainty currently associated with snowpack and snow water resource analysis by documenting and quantifying snow depth variability and snowpack evolution on relatively inaccessible slopes in complex terrain at high spatial and temporal resolutions. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Unknown Bridger ENVELOPE(-45.850,-45.850,-60.550,-60.550) The Cryosphere 16 12 4907 4930 |
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English |
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geo envir |
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geo envir Z. S. Miller E. H. Peitzsch E. A. Sproles K. W. Birkeland R. T. Palomaki Assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain |
topic_facet |
geo envir |
description |
Dynamic natural processes govern snow distribution in mountainous environments throughout the world. Interactions between these different processes create spatially variable patterns of snow depth across a landscape. Variations in accumulation and redistribution occur at a variety of spatial scales, which are well established for moderate mountain terrain. However, spatial patterns of snow depth variability in steep, complex mountain terrain have not been fully explored due to insufficient spatial resolutions of snow depth measurement. Recent advances in uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) and structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry provide an opportunity to map spatially continuous snow depths at high resolutions in these environments. Using UASs and SfM photogrammetry, we produced 11 snow depth maps at a steep couloir site in the Bridger Range of Montana, USA, during the 2019–2020 winter. We quantified the spatial scales of snow depth variability in this complex mountain terrain at a variety of resolutions over 2 orders of magnitude (0.02 to 20 m) and time steps (4 to 58 d) using variogram analysis in a high-performance computing environment. We found that spatial resolutions greater than 0.5 m do not capture the complete patterns of snow depth spatial variability within complex mountain terrain and that snow depths are autocorrelated within horizontal distances of 15 m at our study site. The results of this research have the potential to reduce uncertainty currently associated with snowpack and snow water resource analysis by documenting and quantifying snow depth variability and snowpack evolution on relatively inaccessible slopes in complex terrain at high spatial and temporal resolutions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Z. S. Miller E. H. Peitzsch E. A. Sproles K. W. Birkeland R. T. Palomaki |
author_facet |
Z. S. Miller E. H. Peitzsch E. A. Sproles K. W. Birkeland R. T. Palomaki |
author_sort |
Z. S. Miller |
title |
Assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain |
title_short |
Assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain |
title_full |
Assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain |
title_fullStr |
Assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain |
title_sort |
assessing the seasonal evolution of snow depth spatial variability and scaling in complex mountain terrain |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4907-2022 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4907/2022/tc-16-4907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/92732944ad6d4779a6af33373facae8d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.850,-45.850,-60.550,-60.550) |
geographic |
Bridger |
geographic_facet |
Bridger |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 4907-4930 (2022) |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-16-4907-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4907/2022/tc-16-4907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/92732944ad6d4779a6af33373facae8d |
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undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4907-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
4907 |
op_container_end_page |
4930 |
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1766216384237273088 |