Assessment of snow modeling decisions in the extra-tropical Andes Cordillera
Abstract
Improving model realism is an ongoing challenge for the cryosphere research community, not only to advance process understanding, but also to quantify and reduce uncertainty under global warming conditions. This work attempts to characterize the interplay and impact of user decisions about snow model structure and parameter specification on model uncertainty. Snow simulations were conducted in the extra-tropical Andes - a mountainous region that acts as a natural reservoir for Central Chile and Western Argentina. To address this topic, we apply the Structure for Unifying Multiple Modeling Alternatives (SUMMA) to simulate seasonal snowpack dynamics at three sites with different hydroclimatic regimes (semi-arid, Mediterranean, and temperate humid). Results are verified against extensive ground-based observations. Site elevations decrease from north to south, whereas precipitation amounts increase with latitude. Results highlight the impact of different windflow and snow transport decisions on model skill during the accumulation period, and different parameterizations (e.g., albedo decay) on spring simulations. We anticipate that the outcomes from this study will have important implications on current and future research, in particular on the configuration of snow models used to quantify the availability of water resources in this region.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFM.C53A1008M
- Keywords:
-
- 0736 Snow;
- CRYOSPHERE;
- 0740 Snowmelt;
- CRYOSPHERE;
- 0798 Modeling;
- CRYOSPHERE