Articles | Volume 28, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-781-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-781-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Changing snow water storage in natural snow reservoirs
Christina Marie Aragon
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Water Resources Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
David F. Hill
Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Related authors
Ryan L. Crumley, David F. Hill, Katreen Wikstrom Jones, Gabriel J. Wolken, Anthony A. Arendt, Christina M. Aragon, Christopher Cosgrove, and Community Snow Observations Participants
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4651–4680, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4651-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4651-2021, 2021
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In this study, we use a new snow data set collected by participants in the Community Snow Observations project in coastal Alaska to improve snow depth and snow water equivalence simulations from a snow process model. We validate our simulations with multiple datasets, taking advantage of snow telemetry (SNOTEL), snow depth and snow water equivalence, and remote sensing measurements. Our results demonstrate that assimilating citizen science snow depth measurements can improve model performance.
Ryan L. Crumley, David F. Hill, Katreen Wikstrom Jones, Gabriel J. Wolken, Anthony A. Arendt, Christina M. Aragon, Christopher Cosgrove, and Community Snow Observations Participants
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4651–4680, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4651-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4651-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we use a new snow data set collected by participants in the Community Snow Observations project in coastal Alaska to improve snow depth and snow water equivalence simulations from a snow process model. We validate our simulations with multiple datasets, taking advantage of snow telemetry (SNOTEL), snow depth and snow water equivalence, and remote sensing measurements. Our results demonstrate that assimilating citizen science snow depth measurements can improve model performance.
Claudine Hauri, Cristina Schultz, Katherine Hedstrom, Seth Danielson, Brita Irving, Scott C. Doney, Raphael Dussin, Enrique N. Curchitser, David F. Hill, and Charles A. Stock
Biogeosciences, 17, 3837–3857, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3837-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3837-2020, 2020
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The coastal ecosystem of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) is especially vulnerable to the effects of ocean acidification and climate change. To improve our conceptual understanding of the system, we developed a new regional biogeochemical model setup for the GOA. Model output suggests that bottom water is seasonally high in CO2 between June and January. Such extensive periods of reoccurring high CO2 may be harmful to ocean acidification-sensitive organisms.
Katherine A. Serafin, Peter Ruggiero, Kai Parker, and David F. Hill
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1415–1431, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-1415-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-1415-2019, 2019
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In coastal environments, extreme water levels driving flooding are often generated by many individual processes like storm surge, streamflow, and tides. To estimate flood drivers along a coastal river, we merge statistical simulations of ocean and river forcing with a hydraulic model to produce water levels. We find both ocean and river forcing are necessary for producing extreme flood levels like the 100-yr event, highlighting the need for considering compound events in flood risk assessments.
David F. Hill, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, Ryan L. Crumley, Julia Keon, J. Michelle Hu, Anthony A. Arendt, Katreen Wikstrom Jones, and Gabriel J. Wolken
The Cryosphere, 13, 1767–1784, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1767-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1767-2019, 2019
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We present a new statistical model for converting snow depths to water equivalent. The only variables required are snow depth, day of year, and location. We use the location to look up climatological parameters such as mean winter precipitation and mean temperature difference (difference between hottest month and coldest month). The model is simple by design so that it can be applied to depth measurements anywhere, anytime. The model is shown to perform better than other widely used approaches.
Related subject area
Subject: Snow and Ice | Techniques and Approaches: Theory development
Hydrological response to warm and dry weather: do glaciers compensate?
Midwinter melts in the Canadian prairies: energy balance and hydrological effects
Impact of glacier loss and vegetation succession on annual basin runoff
Forest impacts on snow accumulation and ablation across an elevation gradient in a temperate montane environment
Morphological dynamics of an englacial channel
Recent climatic, cryospheric, and hydrological changes over the interior of western Canada: a review and synthesis
Laboratory evidence for enhanced infiltration of ion load during snowmelt
Marit Van Tiel, Anne F. Van Loon, Jan Seibert, and Kerstin Stahl
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 3245–3265, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3245-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3245-2021, 2021
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Glaciers can buffer streamflow during dry and warm periods, but under which circumstances can melt compensate precipitation deficits? Streamflow responses to warm and dry events were analyzed using
long-term observations of 50 glacierized catchments in Norway, Canada, and the European Alps. Region, timing of the event, relative glacier cover, and antecedent event conditions all affect the level of compensation during these events. This implies that glaciers do not compensate straightforwardly.
Igor Pavlovskii, Masaki Hayashi, and Daniel Itenfisu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1867–1883, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1867-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1867-2019, 2019
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Midwinter melts are often an overlooked factor in hydrological processes in the cold regions. The present paper highlights the effect of melt timing on energy balance and discusses how midwinter melts affect streamflows and groundwater recharge.
Evan Carnahan, Jason M. Amundson, and Eran Hood
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1667–1681, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1667-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1667-2019, 2019
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We model the effects of glacier dynamics, climate, and plant succession on annual streamflow during glacier retreat. Streamflow initially increases as the glacier melts, but eventually decreases to below preretreat levels due to increases in evapotranspiration. Glacier dynamics largely controls early variations in streamflow, whereas plant succession plays a progressively larger roll throughout. We show that glacier dynamics and landscape evolution are equally important in predicting streamflow.
Travis R. Roth and Anne W. Nolin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5427–5442, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5427-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5427-2017, 2017
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Maritime snowpacks are temperature sensitive and experience disproportionate effects of climate warming and changing forest cover. We studied the combined effects of forest cover, climate variability, and elevation on snow in a maritime montane environment. The dense, relatively warm forests at Low and Mid sites impede snow accumulation through increased canopy snow interception and increased energy inputs to the snowpack. These results are needed for improved forest cover model representation.
Geir Vatne and Tristram D. L. Irvine-Fynn
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 2947–2964, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2947-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2947-2016, 2016
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Ten years of direct observations of an englacial conduit in a cold based glacier in Svalbard document for the first time how a vertical meltwater waterfall (moulin) is formed from gradual incision of a meltwater channel. This evolution appears to be dominated by knickpoints that incise upstream at rates several times faster than the vertical incision in adjacent near horizontal channel sections.
Chris M. DeBeer, Howard S. Wheater, Sean K. Carey, and Kwok P. Chun
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 1573–1598, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1573-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1573-2016, 2016
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This paper provides a comprehensive review and up-to-date synthesis of the observed changes in air temperature, precipitation, seasonal snow cover, mountain glaciers, permafrost, freshwater ice cover, and river discharge over the interior of western Canada since the mid- or late 20th century. Important long-term observational networks and data sets are described, and qualitative linkages among the changing Earth system components are highlighted.
G. Lilbæk and J. W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 1365–1374, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-1365-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-1365-2010, 2010
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Short summary
A novel snow metric, snow water storage (SwS), is used to characterize the natural reservoir function of snowpacks, quantifying how much water is held in snow reservoirs and for how long. Despite covering only 16 % of US land area, mountainous regions contribute 72 % of the annual SwS. Recent decades show a 22 % decline in annual mountain SwS. Flexible snow metrics such as SwS may become more valuable for monitoring and predicting water resources amidst a future of increased climate variability.
A novel snow metric, snow water storage (SwS), is used to characterize the natural reservoir...