scholarly journals Snow farming: Conserving snow over the summer season

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Grünewald ◽  
Michael Lehning ◽  
Fabian Wolfsperger
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
Sensitivity Studies ◽  
Wave Emission ◽  
The One ◽  
Snow Mass

Abstract. Summer storage of snow for winter touristic purpose has seen an increasing interest in the last years. Covering large snow piles with materials such as sawdust enables to conserve more than two thirds of the initial snow volume. We present detailed mass balance measurements of two sawdust covered snow piles obtained by terrestrial laser scanning during summer 2015. Results indicate that 74 % and 63 % of the snow volume remained over the summer. If snow mass is considered instead of volume, the values increase to 85 % and 72 % which is attributed to settling and densification of the snow. Additionally, we adapted the one-dimensional, physically based snow cover model SNOWPACK to perform simulations of the sawdust covered snow piles. Model results and measurement agreed extremely well at the point scale. Moreover, we analyzed the contribution of the different terms of the energy balance to snow ablation for a pile covered with a 40 cm thick sawdust layer and a pile without insulation. Shortwave radiation was the dominant source of energy for both scenarios but the moist sawdust caused strong cooling by long-wave emission and negative sensible and latent heat fluxes. This cooling effect reduces the surface energy balance by a factor or 12. As a result only 9 % of the net shortwave energy remained available for melt. Finally, sensitivity studies of the parameters thickness of the sawdust layer, air temperature, precipitation and wind speed were performed. We show that sawdust thickness has a tremendous effect on snow loss. Higher temperatures and wind speeds increase snow ablation but are less important. No significant effect of additional precipitation could be found as the sawdust remained wet during the entire summer. However, switching of precipitation of completely would strongly increase melt.

scholarly journals Snow farming: conserving snow over the summer season

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 385-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Grünewald ◽  
Fabian Wolfsperger ◽  
Michael Lehning
Keyword(s):  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Short Wave ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Wave Radiation ◽  
Measured Quantity ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One

Abstract. Summer storage of snow for tourism has seen an increasing interest in the last years. Covering large snow piles with materials such as sawdust enables more than two-thirds of the initial snow volume to be conserved. We present detailed mass balance measurements of two sawdust-covered snow piles obtained by terrestrial laser scanning during summer 2015. Results indicate that 74 and 63 % of the snow volume remained over the summer for piles in Davos, Switzerland and Martell, Italy. If snow mass is considered instead of volume, the values increase to 83 and 72 %. The difference is attributed to settling and densification of the snow. Additionally, we adapted the one-dimensional, physically based snow cover model SNOWPACK to perform simulations of the sawdust-covered snow piles. Model results and measurements agreed extremely well at the point scale. Moreover, we analysed the contribution of the different terms of the surface energy balance to snow ablation for a pile covered with a 40 cm thick sawdust layer and a pile without insulation. Short-wave radiation was the dominant source of energy for both scenarios, but the moist sawdust caused strong cooling by long-wave emission and negative sensible and latent heat fluxes. This cooling effect reduces the energy available for melt by up to a factor of 12. As a result only 9 % of the net short-wave energy remained available for melt. Finally, sensitivity studies of the parameters thickness of the sawdust layer, air temperature, precipitation and wind speed were performed. We show that sawdust thickness has a tremendous effect on snow loss. Higher air temperatures and wind speeds increase snow ablation but less significantly. No significant effect of additional precipitation could be found as the sawdust remained wet during the entire summer with the measured quantity of rain. Setting precipitation amounts to zero, however, strongly increased melt. Overall, the 40 cm sawdust provides sufficient protection for mid-elevation (approx. 1500 m a.s.l.) Alpine climates and can be managed with reasonable effort.

scholarly journals Shallow groundwater effect on land surface temperature and surface energy balance under bare soil conditions: modeling and description

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 1817-1831 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Alkhaier ◽  
G. N. Flerchinger ◽  
Z. Su
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Potential Evaporation ◽  
Available Energy

Abstract. Understanding when and how groundwater affects surface temperature and energy fluxes is significant for utilizing remote sensing in groundwater studies and for integrating aquifers within land surface models. To investigate the shallow groundwater effect under bare soil conditions, we numerically exposed two soil profiles to identical metrological forcing. One of the profiles had shallow groundwater. The different responses that the two profiles manifested were inspected regarding soil moisture, temperature and energy balance at the land surface. The findings showed that the two profiles differed in three aspects: the absorbed and emitted amounts of energy, the portioning out of the available energy and the heat fluency in the soil. We concluded that due to their lower albedo, shallow groundwater areas reflect less shortwave radiation and consequently get a higher magnitude of net radiation. When potential evaporation demand is sufficiently high, a large portion of the energy received by these areas is consumed for evaporation. This increases the latent heat flux and reduces the energy that could have heated the soil. Consequently, lower magnitudes of both sensible and ground heat fluxes are caused to occur. The higher soil thermal conductivity in shallow groundwater areas facilitates heat transfer between the top soil and the subsurface, i.e. soil subsurface is more thermally connected to the atmosphere. For the reliability of remote sensors in detecting shallow groundwater effect, it was concluded that this effect can be sufficiently clear to be detected if at least one of the following conditions occurs: high potential evaporation and high contrast between day and night temperatures. Under these conditions, most day and night hours are suitable for shallow groundwater depth detection.

scholarly journals Reconnaissance Study of glacier energy balance in North Greenland, 1993–94

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (147) ◽  
pp. 239-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger J. Braithwaite ◽  
Thomas Konzelmann ◽  
Christoph Marty ◽  
Ole B. Olesen
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Conductive Heat ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
North Greenland

AbstractReconnaissance energy-balance studies were made for the first time at two sites in North Greenland to compare with conditions in West Greenland. The field experiments were planned to save weight because it is expensive to operate in North Greenland. The larger energy components (incoming radiation and ablation) were measured for 55 days altogether, and the smaller components were evaluated by indirect methods, e.g. turbulent fluxes are calculated from air temperature, humidity and wind speed, to save the weight of instruments. The energy-balance model is “tuned" by choosing surface roughness and albedo to reduce the mean error between measured ablation and modelled daily melting. The error standard deviation for ablation is only ± 5 kg m−2d−1’, which is much lower than found in West Greenland, due to better instruments and modelling in the present study. Net radiation is the main energy source for melting in North Greenland but ablation is relatively low because sublimation and conductive-heat fluxes use energy that would otherwise be available for melting. There is a strong diurnal variation in ablation, mainly forced by variations in shortwave radiation and reinforced by nocturnal cooling of the ice surface by outgoing longwave radiation and sublimation. The model frequently predicts a frozen glacier surface at night even when air temperatures are positive.

scholarly journals A physically based method for correcting temperature data measured by naturally ventilated sensors over snow

2001 ◽  
Vol 47 (159) ◽  
pp. 665-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Arck ◽  
Dieter Scherer
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Correction Method ◽  
Temperature Data ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Low Wind Speed ◽  
Snowmelt Period ◽  
Physically Based

AbstractDuring the snowmelt period in 1998, air-temperature data were acquired at 1 min intervals using different measurement systems as part of a field campaign in the Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland. A comparison reveals that temperatures from naturally ventilated sensors exceed temperatures from aspirated sensors by as much as 6.2 K. Errors in temperature are closely connected to high values of upwelling shortwave radiation and are larger in periods of low wind speed. Measurement errors result from the instantaneous radiation conditions and propagate over the next measurements due to slow response time of the naturally ventilated sensor. A physically based method is developed for correcting temperature data influenced by radiation errors, which requires additional measurements of wind speed and upwelling shortwave radiation. Coefficients of the correction formula are automatically determined from the erroneous temperature data, so the method is independent of accurate air-temperature measurements. The high quality of the correction method could be validated by accurate psychrometer measurements. One of the most important applications is the computation of sensible-heat fluxes from snow-covered surfaces during the snowmelt period using the bulk-aerodynamic method, which is greatly improved by the new correction method.

Bulk Formulation of the Heat and Water Vapor Fluxes at the Air–Sea Interface, Including Nonmolecular Contributions

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 234-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Mueller ◽  
Fabrice Veron
Keyword(s):  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Wave Age ◽  
Surface Drag ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Smooth Flow ◽  
Flow Limit ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
Moisture Fluxes ◽  
Heat And Moisture

Abstract Accurate prediction of the air–sea sensible and latent heat fluxes is vital for nearly all applications of atmosphere and ocean models. Existing theories of heat transfer over rough surfaces provide a starting point, but they seem incomplete given that recent measurements suggest a departure from these theoretically predicted fluxes at higher wind speeds. Although explicit models of the air–sea heat fluxes are desperately needed, the formulation presented in this paper is an attempt to model the air–sea fluxes without dependence on explicit heat flux components. Using smooth flow limit approximations, theoretical profiles, and a physically based surface stress model, the predicted heat fluxes show reasonable agreement with available data. With increasing wind forcing, modestly increasing heat and moisture exchange coefficients (Stanton and Dalton numbers) are found. Even though wave age strongly influences the surface drag, stratification and temperature effects seem to dominate the wave-age influence on the air–sea heat and moisture fluxes.

scholarly journals Reconnaissance Study of glacier energy balance in North Greenland, 1993–94

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (147) ◽  
pp. 239-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger J. Braithwaite ◽  
Thomas Konzelmann ◽  
Christoph Marty ◽  
Ole B. Olesen
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Conductive Heat ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
North Greenland

AbstractReconnaissance energy-balance studies were made for the first time at two sites in North Greenland to compare with conditions in West Greenland. The field experiments were planned to save weight because it is expensive to operate in North Greenland. The larger energy components (incoming radiation and ablation) were measured for 55 days altogether, and the smaller components were evaluated by indirect methods, e.g. turbulent fluxes are calculated from air temperature, humidity and wind speed, to save the weight of instruments. The energy-balance model is “tuned" by choosing surface roughness and albedo to reduce the mean error between measured ablation and modelled daily melting. The error standard deviation for ablation is only ± 5 kg m −2 d−1’, which is much lower than found in West Greenland, due to better instruments and modelling in the present study. Net radiation is the main energy source for melting in North Greenland but ablation is relatively low because sublimation and conductive-heat fluxes use energy that would otherwise be available for melting. There is a strong diurnal variation in ablation, mainly forced by variations in shortwave radiation and reinforced by nocturnal cooling of the ice surface by outgoing longwave radiation and sublimation. The model frequently predicts a frozen glacier surface at night even when air temperatures are positive.

scholarly journals An energy-balance model for debris-covered glaciers including heat conduction through the debris layer

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (199) ◽  
pp. 903-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim D. Reid ◽  
Ben W. Brock
Keyword(s):  
Heat Conduction ◽  
Energy Balance ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Energy Balance Model ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
Villarrica Volcano ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Glacier Ablation ◽  
Miage Glacier

AbstractExtensive covers of supraglacial debris are often present in glacier ablation areas, and it is essential to assess exactly how the debris affects glacier melt rates. This paper presents a physically based energy-balance model for the surface of a debris-covered glacier. The model is driven by meteorological variables, and was developed using data collected at Miage glacier, Italy, during the ablation seasons of 2005, 2006 and 2007. The debris surface temperature is numerically estimated by considering the balance of heat fluxes at the air/debris interface, and heat conduction through the debris is calculated in order to estimate melt rates at the debris/ice interface. The predicted hourly debris surface temperatures and debris internal temperatures provide a good fit to temperatures measured on rock-covered Miage glacier (r2 >0.94) and the tephra-covered glacier on Villarrica volcano, Chile (r2 >0.82). The model can also be used to reproduce observed changes in melt rates below debris layers of varying types and thicknesses, an important consideration for the overall mass balance of debris-covered glaciers.

scholarly journals Surface energy balance of the Sygyktinsky Glacier, south Eastern Siberia, during the ablation period and its sensitivity to meteorological fluctuations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Y. Osipov ◽  
Olga P. Osipova
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Surface Energy ◽  
Surface Energy Balance ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Eastern Siberia ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Glacier Ablation

AbstractThe physically based melt of the low elevation Eastern Siberian glaciers is poorly understood due to the lack of direct micrometeorological studies. We used an automatic meteorological station to record the meteorological and energy characteristics of the Sygyktinsky Glacier, south Eastern Siberia (56.8° N, 117.4° E, 2,560 m a.s.l.), during two ablation seasons and computed the surface energy balance (SEB) for 30-min intervals. The glacier ablation was both modeled and measured by stakes and a thermistor cable. The net radiation (Rnet) was the main contributor (71–75 W m−2, 89–95%) to the SEB (79 W m−2, 100%), followed by sensible (2–4 W m−2, 3–5%) and latent (2–3 W m−2, 2–4%) heat fluxes. The net shortwave radiation was the main positive component of Rnet, while the net longwave radiation was weak and either negative (− 15 W m−2 in 2019) or positive (4 W m−2 in 2020). The small proportion of turbulent fluxes in the SEB is explained by the low wind speed (1.2 m s−1). The glacier ablation was found to be more sensitive to changes in shortwave radiation and wind speed, suggesting the need to consider the atmospheric conditions of the ablation period (summer snowfalls, cloudiness, wind speed) when analyzing long-term trends in glacial changes.

scholarly journals The role of radiation penetration in the energy budget of the snowpack at Summit, Greenland

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Kuipers Munneke ◽  
M. R. van den Broeke ◽  
C. H. Reijmer ◽  
M. M. Helsen ◽  
W. Boot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Heat Sinks ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
Transfer Model

Abstract. Measurements of the summer surface energy balance at Summit, Greenland, are presented (8 June–20 July 2007). These measurements serve as input to an energy balance model that searches for a surface temperature for which closure of all energy terms is achieved. A good agreement between observed and modelled surface temperatures was found, with an average difference of 0.45°C and an RMSE of 0.85°C. It turns out that penetration of shortwave radiation into the snowpack plays a small but important role in correctly simulating snow temperatures. After 42 days, snow temperatures in the first meter are 3.6–4.0°C higher compared to a model simulation without radiation penetration. Sensitivity experiments show that these results cannot be reproduced by tuning the heat conduction process alone, by varying snow density or snow diffusivity. We compared the two-stream radiation penetration calculations with a sophisticated radiative transfer model and discuss the differences. The average diurnal cycle shows that net shortwave radiation is the largest energy source (diurnal average of +61 W m−2), net longwave radiation the largest energy sink (−42 W m−2). On average, subsurface heat flux, sensible and latent heat fluxes are the remaining, small heat sinks (−5, −5 and −7 W m−2, respectively), although these are more important on a subdaily timescale.

scholarly journals Shallow groundwater effect on land surface temperature and surface energy balance under bare soil conditions: modeling and description

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 8639-8670 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Alkhaier ◽  
G. N. Flerchinger ◽  
Z. Su
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Potential Evaporation ◽  
Meteorological Forcing

Abstract. Appreciating when and how groundwater affects surface temperature and energy fluxes is important for utilizing remote sensing in groundwater studies and for integrating aquifers within land surface models. To explore the shallow groundwater effect, we numerically exposed two soil profiles – one having shallow groundwater – to the same meteorological forcing, and inspected their different responses regarding surface soil moisture, temperature and energy balance. We found that the two profiles differed in the absorbed and emitted amounts of energy, in portioning out the available energy and in heat fluency within the soil. We conclude that shallow groundwater areas reflect less shortwave radiation due to their lower albedo and therefore they get higher magnitude of net radiation. When potential evaporation demand is high enough, a large portion of the energy received by these areas is spent on evaporation. This makes the latent heat flux predominant, and leaves less energy to heat the soil. Consequently, this induces lower magnitudes of both sensible and ground heat fluxes. The higher soil thermal conductivity in shallow groundwater areas facilitates heat transfer between the top soil and the subsurface, i.e. soil subsurface is more thermally connected to the atmosphere. In view of remote sensors' capability of detecting shallow groundwater effect, we conclude that this effect can be sufficiently clear to be sensed if at least one of two conditions is met: high potential evaporation and big contrast in air temperature between day and night. Under these conditions, most day and night hours are suitable for shallow groundwater depth detection.

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