ARS | Publication request: Inter-annual comparison of measured turbulent fluxes over snow at a wind-sheltered and wind-exposed site using eddy covariance

Submitted to: European Geosciences Union General Assembly Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 27, 2007
Publication Date: December 8, 2007
Citation: Reba, M., Marks, D.G., Link, T., Pomeroy, J. 2007. Inter-annual comparison of measured turbulent fluxes over snow at a wind-sheltered and wind-exposed site using eddy covariance. Presented in IAHS Symposium HS1003: Hydrology in Mountain Regions: Observations, Processes and Dynamics, The 24th General Assembly of the IUGG, Perugia, Italy, July 2-13, 2007.

Technical Abstract: Measurements of sensible and latent heat fluxes using eddy covariance (EC) instrumentation over snow in complex terrain have become more common in the past decade. Analysis of EC measurements at two sites, wind-exposed and wind-protected, for three consecutive years is presented. The analysis focused on how site conditions influence inter-annual variability of EC-measured turbulent fluxes. The protected site yields essentially the same turbulent fluxes regardless of meteorological inter-annual variability. The exposed site yields turbulent fluxes that are several times the magnitude of the fluxes measured at the protected site. Sublimation for the season is relatively constant for the years studied and hence, constitute a larger percentage of the snow pack during below average water years. Sensible heat dominates the turbulent flux early in the season while latent heat dominates turbulent fluxes later in the season.