Modeling Interannual Variability in Snow-Cover Development and Melt for a Semiarid Mountain Catchment
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 17, Issue 1
Abstract
Observed changes in midelevation snow cover and duration have raised concerns over future impacts of global warming on snowmelt-dependent water resources and ecosystems. However, predictions of future changes in snow hydrology and water supply from mountain basins are complicated by natural variability in climate and interactions among topography, vegetation structure, wind and radiation energy, and snow deposition. In this study, interannual variability in snow-cover development, snow melt, and runoff is assessed for a range of precipitation and temperature conditions typical of a mountain catchment, the Reynolds Mountain East (RME) basin, in Idaho. A spatially distributed energy and mass balance snow model, Isnobal, coupled with a windfield and snow redistribution model, is used to continuously simulate snow accumulation and melt for five individual snow seasons (1984, 1986, 1987, 2001, and 2006), representing the historic range of climatic variance. The modeling results compare well with the field measurements of snow water equivalent for all simulation snow seasons (Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient of 0.81 to 0.97). The modeling scheme used in this study demonstrates spatial and temporal differences in snow-cover development and melt processes in complex mountain terrain. During all simulation snow seasons, the forested site was shown to hold more snow, generate more snowmelt, and melt later than the exposed site of the basin. Comparison of simulation results for wet and dry snow seasons showed that the snow melts earlier and a greater fraction of surface water input (SWI) is utilized to fill soil water storage during dry seasons than in wet snow seasons. This study demonstrates differences in snowmelt volume and timing during wet and dry seasons within a mountain basin. It will improve understanding of how interannual variability affects the delivery of water from the seasonal snowcover to the soil and streams of mountain basins, and can provide useful inputs to the decision-making process for reservoir and water management strategies for utilizing surplus or supplementing deficit water supplies during wet and dry years, respectively.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to specifically thank the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Northwest Watershed Research Center personnel for making the data necessary for this research possible through their careful and diligent work in the field and laboratory over the past 50 years. The data and analysis presented in this paper were funded in part by USDA NRCS Conservation Effects Assessment Project (USDA535213610 009 14R), USDA NRCS Water and Climate Center Portland, Oregon (USDA5362 13610 008 03R), USDA ARS CRIS Snow and Hydrologic Processes in the Intermountain West (USDA5362 13610 008 00D), joint ARS–University of Idaho program Modeling Snow, Soil Moisture, and Streamflow Impacts on Water, Soil and Vegetation Resources in Semi-Arid Basins (UNSPECIFIED5362-13610-008-05S), NSF CBET (NSF0854553) Collaborative Research: A WATERS Testbed to Investigate the Impacts of Changing Snow Conditions on Hydrologic Processes in the Western U.S., and NSF Idaho EPSCoR Program (NSFEPS 0814387). Any reference to specific equipment types or manufacturers is for information purposes and does not represent a product endorsement or recommendation. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 17 • Issue 1 • January 2012
Pages: 74 - 84
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 18, 2010
Accepted: Mar 31, 2011
Published online: Apr 2, 2011
Published in print: Jan 1, 2012
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