Articles | Volume 22, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4891-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4891-2018
Research article
 | 
19 Sep 2018
Research article |  | 19 Sep 2018

Now you see it, now you don't: a case study of ephemeral snowpacks and soil moisture response in the Great Basin, USA

Rose Petersky and Adrian Harpold

Related authors

CAMELS-Chem: augmenting CAMELS (Catchment Attributes and Meteorology for Large-sample Studies) with atmospheric and stream water chemistry data
Gary Sterle, Julia Perdrial, Dustin W. Kincaid, Kristen L. Underwood, Donna M. Rizzo, Ijaz Ul Haq, Li Li, Byung Suk Lee, Thomas Adler, Hang Wen, Helena Middleton, and Adrian A. Harpold
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 611–630, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-611-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-611-2024, 2024
Short summary
Diel streamflow cycles suggest more sensitive snowmelt-driven streamflow to climate change than land surface modeling does
Sebastian A. Krogh, Lucia Scaff, James W. Kirchner, Beatrice Gordon, Gary Sterle, and Adrian Harpold
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3393–3417, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3393-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3393-2022, 2022
Short summary
Temperature controls production but hydrology regulates export of dissolved organic carbon at the catchment scale
Hang Wen, Julia Perdrial, Benjamin W. Abbott, Susana Bernal, Rémi Dupas, Sarah E. Godsey, Adrian Harpold, Donna Rizzo, Kristen Underwood, Thomas Adler, Gary Sterle, and Li Li
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 945–966, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-945-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-945-2020, 2020
Short summary
Rain or snow: hydrologic processes, observations, prediction, and research needs
Adrian A. Harpold, Michael L. Kaplan, P. Zion Klos, Timothy Link, James P. McNamara, Seshadri Rajagopal, Rina Schumer, and Caitriana M. Steele
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1-2017, 2017
Short summary
Laser vision: lidar as a transformative tool to advance critical zone science
A. A. Harpold, J. A. Marshall, S. W. Lyon, T. B. Barnhart, B. A. Fisher, M. Donovan, K. M. Brubaker, C. J. Crosby, N. F. Glenn, C. L. Glennie, P. B. Kirchner, N. Lam, K. D. Mankoff, J. L. McCreight, N. P. Molotch, K. N. Musselman, J. Pelletier, T. Russo, H. Sangireddy, Y. Sjöberg, T. Swetnam, and N. West
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2881–2897, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2881-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2881-2015, 2015
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Snow and Ice | Techniques and Approaches: Remote Sensing and GIS
Extending the utility of space-borne snow water equivalent observations over vegetated areas with data assimilation
Justin M. Pflug, Melissa L. Wrzesien, Sujay V. Kumar, Eunsang Cho, Kristi R. Arsenault, Paul R. Houser, and Carrie M. Vuyovich
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 631–648, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-631-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-631-2024, 2024
Short summary
Assimilation of airborne gamma observations provides utility for snow estimation in forested environments
Eunsang Cho, Yonghwan Kwon, Sujay V. Kumar, and Carrie M. Vuyovich
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4039–4056, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4039-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4039-2023, 2023
Short summary
Characterizing 4 decades of accelerated glacial mass loss in the west Nyainqentanglha Range of the Tibetan Plateau
Shuhong Wang, Jintao Liu, Hamish D. Pritchard, Linghong Ke, Xiao Qiao, Jie Zhang, Weihua Xiao, and Yuyan Zhou
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 933–952, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-933-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-933-2023, 2023
Short summary
Estimating spatiotemporally continuous snow water equivalent from intermittent satellite observations: an evaluation using synthetic data
Xiaoyu Ma, Dongyue Li, Yiwen Fang, Steven A. Margulis, and Dennis P. Lettenmaier
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 21–38, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-21-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-21-2023, 2023
Short summary
Development and validation of a new MODIS snow-cover-extent product over China
Xiaohua Hao, Guanghui Huang, Zhaojun Zheng, Xingliang Sun, Wenzheng Ji, Hongyu Zhao, Jian Wang, Hongyi Li, and Xiaoyan Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1937–1952, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1937-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1937-2022, 2022
Short summary

Cited articles

Abatzoglou, J. T.: Development of gridded surface meteorological data for ecological applications and modelling, Int. J. Climatol., 33, 121–131, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3413, 2012. a, b
Anderton, S. P., White, S. M., and Alvera, B.: Micro-scale spatial variability and the timing of snowmelt runoff in a high mountain catchment, J. Hydrol., 268, 158–176, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(02)00179-8, 2002. a
Bales, R. C., Molotch, N. P., Painter, T. H., Dettinger, M. D., Rice, R., and Dozier, J.: Mountain hydrology of the western United States, Water Resour. Res., 42, W08432, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004387, 2006. a, b
Barnett, T. P., Adam, J. C., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions, Nature, 438, 303–309, 2005. a
Barnhart, T. B., Molotch, N. P., Livneh, B., Harpold, A. A., Knowles, J. F., and Schneider, D.: Snowmelt rate dictates streamflow, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 8006–8016, 2016. a
Download
Short summary
Ephemeral snowpacks are snowpacks that persist for less than 2 months. We show that ephemeral snowpacks melt earlier and provide less soil water input in the spring. Elevation is strongly correlated with whether snowpacks are ephemeral or seasonal. Snowpacks were also more likely to be ephemeral on south-facing slopes than north-facing slopes at high elevations. In warm years, the Great Basin shifts to ephemerally dominant as rain becomes more prevalent at increasing elevations.