A Seasonal Snow Cover Classification System for Local to Global Applications

Sturm, Matthew; Holmgren, Jon; Liston, Glen E.

doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1995)008<1261:assccs>2.0.co;2

Cited by 611 publications

(676 citation statements)

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“…Falling snow was not intercepted by the canopy, providing a homogeneous snow cover at the 100 m scale, enabling a good reproducibility between contiguous snow pits. This kind of open forest landscape is reasonably representative of Fairbanks surroundings, and the observed stratigraphy corresponds well to what Sturm et al (17) called a taiga snowpack, with the stratigraphic sequence close to that described in Sturm and Benson (18). In forested areas, however, snow accumulation and SAI are smaller, because up to 40% of precipitation is lost to interception by the canopy and subsequent sublimation (26).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

Evolution of the Snow Area Index of the Subarctic Snowpack in Central Alaska over a Whole Season. Consequences for the Air to Snow Transfer of Pollutants

Taillandier

Dominé

Simpson

et al. 2006

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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The detailed physical characteristics of the subarctic snowpack must be known to quantify the exchange of adsorbed pollutants between the atmosphere and the snow cover. For the first time, the combined evolutions of specific surface area (SSA), snow stratigraphy, temperature, and density were monitored throughout winter in central Alaska. We define the snow area index (SAI) as the vertically integrated surface area of snow crystals, and this variable is used to quantify pollutants' adsorption. Intense metamorphism generated by strong temperature gradients formed a thick depth hoar layer with low SSA (90 cm 2 g -1 ) and density (200 kg m -3 ), resulting in a low SAI. After snowpack buildup in autumn, the winter SAI remained around 1000 m 2 /m 2 of ground, much lower than the SAI of the Arctic snowpack, 2500 m 2 m -2 . With the example of PCBs 28 and 180, we calculate that the subarctic snowpack is a smaller reservoir of adsorbed pollutants than the Arctic snowpack and less efficiently transfers adsorbed pollutants from the atmosphere to ecosystems. The difference is greater for the more volatile PCB 28. With climate change, snowpack structure will be modified, and the snowpack's ability to transfer adsorbed pollutants from the atmosphere to ecosystems may be reduced, especially for the more volatile pollutants.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 76%

Evolution of the Snow Area Index of the Subarctic Snowpack in Central Alaska over a Whole Season. Consequences for the Air to Snow Transfer of Pollutants

Taillandier

Dominé

Simpson

et al. 2006

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Sodankylä is located above the Arctic Circle in the boreal forest zone, and its snow conditions fall in the taiga class (Sturm and Holmgren, 1995). The FMI-ARC station is located in 67.368 • N, 26.633 • E, 7 km south of the Sodankylä town centre.…”

Section: Fmi-arc Stationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sodankylä manual snow survey program

Leppänen

Kontu

Hannula

et al. 2016

Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst.

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Abstract. The manual snow survey program of the Arctic Research Centre of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI-ARC) consists of numerous observations of natural seasonal taiga snowpack in Sodankylä, northern Finland. The easily accessible measurement areas represent the typical forest and soil types in the boreal forest zone. Systematic snow measurements began in 1909 with snow depth (HS) and snow water equivalent (SWE). In 2006 the manual snow survey program expanded to cover snow macro-and microstructure from regular snow pits at several sites using both traditional and novel measurement techniques. Present-day snow pit measurements include observations of HS, SWE, temperature, density, stratigraphy, grain size, specific surface area (SSA) and liquid water content (LWC). Regular snow pit measurements are performed weekly during the snow season. Extensive time series of manual snow measurements are important for the monitoring of temporal and spatial changes in seasonal snowpack. This snow survey program is an excellent base for the future research of snow properties.

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“…Also, because of the relatively weak microwave signal emitted by terrestrial surfaces, microwave sensor footprints are necessarily large ($25 km). Uncertainties in snow depth and SWE estimates are associated with the physical structure of snow packs (ice lenses, grain size variations and vertical heterogeneity) which vary in space (Chang et al, 1976;Sturm et al, 1995) and time (Langham, 1981) and can alter the scattering and emission characteristics of the snow pack. Snow pack metamorphosis, which in the Arctic region typically results in a layer of depth hoar (with large crystal size) near the bottom of the pack, results in more efficient microwave scattering.…”

Section: Passive Microwavementioning

confidence: 99%

A review of global satellite-derived snow products

Frei

Tedesco

Lee

et al. 2012

Advances in Space Research

271

184

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Snow cover over the Northern Hemisphere plays a crucial role in the Earth's hydrology and surface energy balance, and modulates feedbacks that control variations of global climate. While many of these variations are associated with exchanges of energy and mass between the land surface and the atmosphere, other expected changes are likely to propagate downstream and affect oceanic processes in coastal zones. For example, a large component of the freshwater flux into the Arctic Ocean comes from snow melt. The timing and magnitude of this flux affects biological and thermodynamic processes in the Arctic Ocean, and potentially across the globe through their impact on North Atlantic Deep Water formation.Several recent global remotely sensed products provide information at unprecedented temporal, spatial, and spectral resolutions. In this article we review the theoretical underpinnings and characteristics of three key products. We also demonstrate the seasonal and spatial patterns of agreement and disagreement amongst them, and discuss current and future directions in their application and development. Though there is general agreement amongst these products, there can be disagreement over certain geographic regions and under conditions of ephemeral, patchy and melting snow.

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A Seasonal Snow Cover Classification System for Local to Global Applications

Cited by 611 publications

References 0 publications

Evolution of the Snow Area Index of the Subarctic Snowpack in Central Alaska over a Whole Season. Consequences for the Air to Snow Transfer of Pollutants

Evolution of the Snow Area Index of the Subarctic Snowpack in Central Alaska over a Whole Season. Consequences for the Air to Snow Transfer of Pollutants

Sodankylä manual snow survey program

A review of global satellite-derived snow products

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