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Deriving Snow-Cover Depletion Curves for Different Spatial Scales from Remote Sensing and Snow Telemetry DataDuring the melting of a snowpack, snow water equivalent (SWE) can be correlated to snow-covered area (SCA) once snow-free areas appear, which is when SCA begins to decrease below 100%. This amount of SWE is called the threshold SWE. Daily SWE data from snow telemetry stations were related to SCA derived from moderate-resolution imaging spectro radiometer images to produce snow-cover depletion curves. The snow depletion curves were created for an 80,000 sq km domain across southern Wyoming and northern Colorado encompassing 54 snow telemetry stations. Eight yearly snow depletion curves were compared, and it is shown that the slope of each is a function of the amount of snow received. Snow-cover depletion curves were also derived for all the individual stations, for which the threshold SWE could be estimated from peak SWE and the topography around each station. A stations peak SWE was much more important than the main topographic variables that included location, elevation, slope, and modelled clear sky solar radiation. The threshold SWE mostly illustrated inter-annual consistency.
Document ID
20170003708
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Fassnacht, Steven R.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Sexstone, Graham A.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Kashipazha, Amir H.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Lopez-Moreno, Juan Ignacio
(Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas Zaragoza, Spain)
Jasinski, Michael F.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Kampf, Stephanie K.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Von Thaden, Benjamin C.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Date Acquired
April 20, 2017
Publication Date
December 14, 2015
Publication Information
Publication: Hydrological Processes
Publisher: Wiley
Volume: 30
Issue: 11
ISSN: 0885-6087
e-ISSN: 1099-1085
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN41656
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX11AQ66G
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
snow depletion curves
snowmelt;

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