The Andes Snow Climatology: Insights From a Landsat-era Snow Reanalysis
Abstract
Until recently, the extratropical Andes has been a traditionally under-studied region in the context of snow hydrology. In this work we present the results of a data assimilation system that combines the flexibility of a physically based snow modeling system with the information content from historical Landsat imagery. We highlight the use of Landsat given its long historical timespan (1984 - present) and high resolution. The assimilation framework results in daily high-resolution (180m) distributed snow water equivalent estimates for the 1984 - 2014 water years. The framework estimates were validated using in-situ data from several snow surveys that took place over the region between 2009 and 2014. Validation results show a mean error of 0.009m, and a correlation coefficient between our estimates and the observed data of 0.87. The system was implemented for the extratropical Andes between the Copiapó (27°S) and Itata (37°S) watersheds. The relationship between El Niño and SWE accumulation was examined, together with the orographic effects on snow distribution throughout longitudinal transects of the domain. Results show that the snow distribution response to El Niño varies significantly throughout the domain, with northern watersheds showing a strong response to El Niño in terms of snow accumulation.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFM.C23B0740C
- Keywords:
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- 0736 Snow;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 0740 Snowmelt;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 0742 Avalanches;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 1863 Snow and ice;
- HYDROLOGY