Articles | Volume 27, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3463-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3463-2023
Research article
 | 
29 Sep 2023
Research article |  | 29 Sep 2023

Spatial distribution and controls of snowmelt runoff in a sublimation-dominated environment in the semiarid Andes of Chile

Álvaro Ayala, Simone Schauwecker, and Shelley MacDonell

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Cited articles

Álvarez-Garreton, C., Mendoza, P. A., Boisier, J. P., Addor, N., Galleguillos, M., Zambrano-Bigiarini, M., Lara, A., Puelma, C., Cortes, G., Garreaud, R., McPhee, J., and Ayala, A.: The CAMELS-CL dataset: catchment attributes and meteorology for large sample studies – Chile dataset, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5817–5846, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5817-2018, 2018. 
Álvarez-Garreton, C., Boisier, J. P., Garreaud, R., Seibert, J., and Vis, M.: Progressive water deficits during multiyear droughts in basins with long hydrological memory in Chile, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 429–446, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-429-2021, 2021. 
Arias, P. A., Garreaud, R., Poveda, G., Espinoza, J. C., Molina-Carpio, J., Masiokas, M., Viale, M., Scaff, L., and van Oevelen, P. J.: Hydroclimate of the Andes Part II: Hydroclimate Variability and Sub-Continental Patterns, Front. Earth Sci., 8, 1–25, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.505467, 2021. 
Ayala, Á., Pellicciotti, F., Peleg, N., and Burlando, P.: Melt and surface sublimation across a glacier in a dry environment: Distributed energy-balance modelling of Juncal Norte Glacier, Chile, J. Glaciol., 63, 803–822, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.46, 2017a. 
Ayala, Á., Pellicciotti, F., MacDonell, S., McPhee, J., and Burlando, P.: Patterns of glacier ablation across North-Central Chile: Identifying the limits of empirical melt models under sublimation-favorable conditions, Water Resour. Res., 53, 5601–5625, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR020126, 2017b. 
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Short summary
As the climate of the semiarid Andes is very dry, much of the seasonal snowpack is lost to the atmosphere through sublimation. We propose that snowmelt runoff originates from specific areas that we define as snowmelt hotspots. We estimate that snowmelt hotspots produce half of the snowmelt runoff in a small study catchment but represent about a quarter of the total area. Snowmelt hotspots may be important for groundwater recharge, rock glaciers, and mountain peatlands.
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