Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-287-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-287-2018
Research article
 | 
23 Jan 2018
Research article |  | 23 Jan 2018

Hydrologic flow path development varies by aspect during spring snowmelt in complex subalpine terrain

Ryan W. Webb, Steven R. Fassnacht, and Michael N. Gooseff

Related authors

Spatially distributed snow depth, bulk density, and snow water equivalent from ground-based and airborne sensor integration at Grand Mesa, Colorado, USA
Tate G. Meehan, Ahmad Hojatimalekshah, Hans-Peter Marshall, Elias J. Deeb, Shad O'Neel, Daniel McGrath, Ryan W. Webb, Randall Bonnell, Mark S. Raleigh, Christopher Hiemstra, and Kelly Elder
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-141,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-141, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for TC
Short summary
Estimating snow accumulation and ablation with L-band interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR)
Jack Tarricone, Ryan W. Webb, Hans-Peter Marshall, Anne W. Nolin, and Franz J. Meyer
The Cryosphere, 17, 1997–2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1997-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1997-2023, 2023
Short summary
Two-dimensional liquid water flow through snow at the plot scale in continental snowpacks: simulations and field data comparisons
Ryan W. Webb, Keith Jennings, Stefan Finsterle, and Steven R. Fassnacht
The Cryosphere, 15, 1423–1434, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1423-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1423-2021, 2021
Short summary

Related subject area

Snow Hydrology
Towards large-scale daily snow density mapping with spatiotemporally aware model and multi-source data
Huadong Wang, Xueliang Zhang, Pengfeng Xiao, Tao Che, Zhaojun Zheng, Liyun Dai, and Wenbo Luan
The Cryosphere, 17, 33–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-33-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-33-2023, 2023
Short summary
Drone-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) application to snow hydrology
Eole Valence, Michel Baraer, Eric Rosa, Florent Barbecot, and Chloe Monty
The Cryosphere, 16, 3843–3860, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3843-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3843-2022, 2022
Short summary
Natural climate variability is an important aspect of future projections of snow water resources and rain-on-snow events
Michael Schirmer, Adam Winstral, Tobias Jonas, Paolo Burlando, and Nadav Peleg
The Cryosphere, 16, 3469–3488, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3469-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3469-2022, 2022
Short summary
Two-dimensional liquid water flow through snow at the plot scale in continental snowpacks: simulations and field data comparisons
Ryan W. Webb, Keith Jennings, Stefan Finsterle, and Steven R. Fassnacht
The Cryosphere, 15, 1423–1434, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1423-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1423-2021, 2021
Short summary
Fractional snow-covered area: scale-independent peak of winter parameterization
Nora Helbig, Yves Bühler, Lucie Eberhard, César Deschamps-Berger, Simon Gascoin, Marie Dumont, Jesus Revuelto, Jeff S. Deems, and Tobias Jonas
The Cryosphere, 15, 615–632, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-615-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-615-2021, 2021
Short summary

Cited articles

Adam, J. C., Hamlet, A. F., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Implications of global climate change for snowmelt hydrology in the twenty-first century, Hydrol. Process., 23, 962–972, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7201, 2009.
Adams, E., Slaughter, A., McKittrick, L., and Miller, D.: Local terrain-topography and thermal-properties influence on energy and mass balance of a snow cover, Ann. Glaciol., 52, 169–175, 2011.
Avanzi, F., Hirashima, H., Yamaguchi, S., Katsushima, T., and De Michele, C.: Observations of capillary barriers and preferential flow in layered snow during cold laboratory experiments, The Cryosphere, 10, 2013–2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2013-2016, 2016.
Bales, R. C., Molotch, N. P., Painter, T. H., Dettinger, M. D., Rice, R., and Dozier, J.: Mountain hydrology of the western United States, Water Resour. Res., 42, W08432, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005wr004387, 2006.
Bales, R. C., Hopmans, J. W., O'Geen, A. T., Meadows, M., Hartsough, P. C., Kirchner, P., Hunsaker, C. T., and Beaudette, D.: Soil moisture response to snowmelt and rainfall in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest, Vadose Zone J., 10, 786, https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2011.0001, 2011.
Download
Short summary
We observed how snowmelt is transported on a hillslope through multiple measurements of snow and soil moisture across a small headwater catchment. We found that snowmelt flows through the snow with less infiltration on north-facing slopes and infiltrates the ground on south-facing slopes. This causes an increase in snow water equivalent at the base of the north-facing slope by as much as 170 %. We present a conceptualization of flow path development to improve future investigations.