Energy balance of a snow cover and simulation of snowmelt in the western Tien Shan mountains, China

The energy-balance approach was used to calculate snowmelt at a site in the mid-mountain zone of the western Tien Shan mountains. During a 19-day snowmelt period, the results showed that net radiation and sensible heat fluxes accounted for 76.9 and 23.1% of the incoming energy, while snowmelt and evaporation consumed 97.1 and 2.9% of the energy, respectively. Snowmelt calculated from the energy balance compares favourably with measured values, indicating the suitability of the energy-balance approach for estimating the rate of snowmelt in the mountain environment of the western Tien Shan.