9:15 AM - 9:30 AM
[AHW23-13] Snow melt dynamics in snowfall dominated mountain regions in Shonai
Keywords:Snow Water Equivalent, Degree-Day Factor, soil moisture, snowmelt, climate data, snow accumulation
The thick snow pack with high density results in a high Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). Monitoring and modelling of the snow melt period in spring is essential to confirm river discharges, water infiltration into the soil and to calculate the water balance of Japanese mountain forests. A modelling approach was done with the calculation of Degree-Day Factors (DDF) (Ismail et al., 2015). Measurements to determine the snow pack differences of forest covered sites and clear-cut sites are conducted this winter and will be intensified in the snow melting period. We expect results comparable to Jost et al. (2009) and Schelker et al. (2013).
Automatic and manual measurements of snow density and snow depth were conducted intensively in the last 7 years in YURF. Together with the DDF we already discovered a significant trend of changing melt dynamics after half of the melting season. Results show furthermore, that the snow cover is not losing water, even in the warm periods during the winter. Soil moisture is measured to identify the start of the snow melt period, river flow discharge measurements will be introduced as soon as the snow melt starts. All these measurements together are parameters for the following calculations of snowmelt runoff. Melting dynamic related to temperature, snow cover and season was discovered and will be compared with river discharge measurements.
Literature:
Asaoka, Yoshihiro, Yuji Kominami (2013): Incorporation of satellite-derived snow-cover area in spatial snowmelt modeling for a large area: determination of a gridded degree-day factor
Ismail, Muhammad Fraz, Habib-ur-Rehman, Wolfgang Bogacki, Noor Muhammad (2015): Degree Day Factor models for forecasting the snowmelt runoff for Naran watershed
Jost, Georg, R. Dan Moore, Markus Weiler, David R. Gluns, Younes Alila (2009): Use of distributed snow measurements to test and improve a snowmelt model for predicting the effect of forest clear-cutting
Krasting, John P., Anthony J. Broccoli, Keith W. Dixon, John R. Lanzante (2013): Future Changes in Northern Hemisphere Snowfall
Masiokas, Mariano H., Ricardo Villalba, Brian H. Luckman, Carlos Le Quesne, Juan Carlos Aravena (2006): Snowpack Variations in the Central Andes of Argentina and Chile, 1951–2005: Large-Scale Atmospheric Influences and Implications for Water Resources in the Region
Schelker, J., L. Kuglerová, K. Eklöf, K. Bishop, H. Laudon (2013): Hydrological effects of clear-cutting in a boreal forest – Snowpack dynamics, snowmelt and streamflow responses