Articles | Volume 28, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-631-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-631-2024
Research article
 | 
13 Feb 2024
Research article |  | 13 Feb 2024

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

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Cited articles

Arsenault, K. R., Wrzesien, M., Gutmann, E. D., Vuyovich, C., Liston, G. E., Mower, R., Reinking, A., Newman, A. J., Kumar, S. V., Wang, S., Navari, M., Forman, B. A., and Jessica, L.: Implementing SnowModel into the Land Information System Framework to Support High Resolution Modeling of Snow Heterogeneity, Presented at the AGU Fall Meeting 2021, AGU, 13–17 December 2021, New Orleans, LA, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021AGUFM.C35G0945A/abstract (last access: 9 February 2024), 2021. 
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, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04141, 2005. 
Barry, R. G.: The Role of Snow and Ice in the Global Climate System: A Review, Polar Geography, 26, 235–246, https://doi.org/10.1080/789610195, 2002. 
Best, M. J., Pryor, M., Clark, D. B., Rooney, G. G., Essery, R. L. H., Ménard, C. B., Edwards, J. M., Hendry, M. A., Porson, A., Gedney, N., Mercado, L. M., Sitch, S., Blyth, E., Boucher, O., Cox, P. M., Grimmond, C. S. B., and Harding, R. J.: The Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES), model description – Part 1: Energy and water fluxes, Geosci. Model Dev., 4, 677–699, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-4-677-2011, 2011. 
Beven, K. J., Kirkby, M. J., Freer, J. E., and Lamb, R.: A history of TOPMODEL, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 527–549, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-527-2021, 2021. 
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Short summary
Estimates of 250 m of snow water equivalent in the western USA and Canada are improved by assimilating observations representative of a snow-focused satellite mission with a land surface model. Here, by including a gap-filling strategy, snow estimates could be improved in forested regions where remote sensing is challenging. This approach improved estimates of winter maximum snow water volume to within 4 %, on average, with persistent improvements to both spring snow and runoff in many regions.
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