ARS | Publication request: A SPATIALLY DISTRIBUTED ENERGY BALANCE SNOWMELT MODEL FOR APPLICATION IN MOUNTAIN BASINS

Submitted to: Western Snow Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: April 20, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Snowmelt is the principal source for soil moisture, ground- water recharge, and stream-flow in mountainous regions of the western U.S. Information on the timing, magnitude, and contributing area of melt under variable or changing climate conditions is required for successful water and resource management. A coupled energy and mass-balance model was used to simulate the development and melting of the seasonal snowcover in several mountain basins in California, Idaho, and Utah. Simulations were done over basins varying from 1 to 10,000 km sq, with simulation periods varying from a few weeks for the smallest basin, to multiple snow seasons for the larger basins. The model, ISNOBAL, is a spatially distributed form of the model SNOBAL, which was described in great detail by Marks, et al. (1998).