Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-26T19:03:20.927Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Snow-mass intercomparisons in the boreal forests from general circulation models and remotely sensed data sets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

James Foster ,
Randy Koster ,
Helga Behr ,
Lydia Dümenil ,
Judah Cohen ,
Richard Essery ,
Glen Liston ,
Starley Thompson ,
David Pollard  and
Diana Verseghy
James Foster
Affiliation:
NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
Randy Koster
Affiliation:
NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
Helga Behr
Affiliation:
University of Hamburg, Meteorology Institute, Hamburg 20146, Germany
Lydia Dümenil
Affiliation:
University of Hamburg, Meteorology Institute, Hamburg 20146, Germany
Judah Cohen
Affiliation:
NASA, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York 10025, USA
Richard Essery
Affiliation:
United Kingdom Meteorological Office, Hadley Climate Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 2SZ
Glen Liston
Affiliation:
Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Ft Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
Starley Thompson
Affiliation:
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Interdisciplinary Climate Systems, PO Box 3000, Boulder, Colorado 80307, USA
David Pollard
Affiliation:
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Interdisciplinary Climate Systems, PO Box 3000, Boulder, Colorado 80307, USA
Diana Verseghy
Affiliation:
Canadian Climate Centre, Atmospheric Environment Service, Downsview, Ontario M3H 5T4, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In much of the boreal forests, snow covers the ground for half of the year. Since these boreal forests comprise approximately 15% of the land normally covered by snow during the winter and upwards of 40% of the land surface normally snow-covered during the spring and autumn, reliable measures of snow cover and snow mass are required for improved energy-balance and water-balance estimates. In this study, results from snow-depth climatological data (SDC), passive microwave satellite data, and output from general circulation models (GCMs) have been intercompared for the boreal forests of both North America and Eurasia. In Eurasia, during the winter months, snowmass estimates from these data sets correspond rather well; however, in North America, the passive microwave estimates are smaller than the estimates from the climatological data and the modeled data. The underestimation results primarily from the effects of vegetation on the microwave signal. The reason why the underestimation is a bigger problem in North America than in Eurasia is likely due to the use of global microwave algorithms that have not accounted for regional differences in the size of snow grains. The GCMs generally produce too much snow in the spring season. This is a result of the models having moisture amounts that are greater and temperatures that are slightly lower than observed, in the late winter and early spring periods. The models compare more favorably with the SDC in the Eurasian boreal forest than in the forests of North America during the winter season. However, in the spring, the model results for the North America boreal forest are in better agreement with the SDC than are the forests of Eurasia.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 32 , Issue 182 , July 1996 , pp. 199 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Benson, C.S., and Trabant, D.C.. 1973. Field measurements on the flux of water vapor through dry snow. In: The role of snow and ice in hydrology: proceedings of the Banff symposia, September 1972. Geneva, Budapest, Paris: World Meteorological Organization, International Association of Hydrological Sciences, Unesco (IAHS Publication 107): 291–298.Google Scholar
Bonan, G.B., Pollard, D., and Thompson, S.L.. 1992. Effects of boreal forest vegetation on global climate. Nature 359: 716–718.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bone, R.N. 1992. The geography of the Canadian north: issues and challenges. Toronto: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cattle, H. 1991. Global climate models and Antarctic climate change. In: Harris, C.M., and Stonehouse, B.. Antarctica and global climate change. London: Belhaven Press: 21–34.Google Scholar
Cess, R.D., and 32 others. 1991. Interpretation of snowclimate feedbacks as produced by 17 general circulation models. Science 253: 888–892.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chang, A.T.C., Foster, J.L., and Hall, D.K.. 1987. Nimbus-7 SMMR derived global snow cover parameters. Annals of Glaciology 9: 39–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Federer, C.A. 1968. Spatial variation of radiation, albedo and surface temperature of forests. Journal of Applied Meteorology 7: 789–795.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, D.J. Jr, and Davy, R.D.. 1988. Global snow depth climatology. Scott Air Force Base, Illinois: US Air Force (USAF publication USAFETAC/TN-88/006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, J.L., Chang, A.T.C., Hall, D.K., and Rango, A.. 1991. Determination of snow water equivalent in boreal forests using microwave radiometry. Arctic 44 (Supplement 1): 147–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, J.L., and 9 others. 1994. Intercomparison of snow cover and snow mass in North America from general circulation models and remote sensing. In: American Meteorological Society. Sixth Conference on Climatic Variation, Nashville, Tennessee. Boston: American Meteorological Society: 207–211.Google Scholar
Foster, J.L., Chang, A.T.C., Gurney, R.J., Hewer, F., and Essery, R.. 1995. Snow cover and snow mass estimates from remote sensing, climatology and the United Kingdom Meteorological Office General Circulation Model. In: Pampaloni, P., Choudhury, B.J., Kerr, Y.H., and Njoku, E.G. (editors). Passive microwave remote sensing of land. Utrecht: VSP Press: 55–76.Google Scholar
Foster, J.L., and 9 others. 1996. Snow cover and snow mass intercomparisons of general circulation models and remotely sensed data sets. Journal of Climate 9: 409–426.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garrett, W.E. (editor). 1985. Atlas of North America. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.Google Scholar
Leonard, R.E., and Escher, A.R.. 1968. Albedo of intercepted snow. Water Resources Research 4: 931–935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lockwood, J.G. 1974. World climatology. New York: St Martin's Press.Google Scholar
Money, D.C. 1972. Climate of soils and vegetation. Second edition. London: University Tutorial Press.Google Scholar
Otterman, J., Chou, M.D., and Arking, A., 1984. Effects of nontropical forest cover on climate. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 23: 762–767.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, D.A., and Kukla, G.. 1984. Albedo of a dissipating snow cover. Journal of Applied Climatology 23: 1626–1634.Google Scholar
Robinson, D.A., and Kukla, G., 1985. Maximum surface albedo of seasonally snow covered lands. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 24: 402–411.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schemm, J., Schubert, S., Terry, J., and Bloom, S.. 1992. Estimates of monthly mean soil moisture for 1979–1989. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Technical Memorandum 104571).Google Scholar
Sparks, J. 1992. Realms of the Russian bear. London: BBC Books.Google Scholar
Sturm, M., Grenfell, T., and Perovich, D.K.. 1993. Passive microwave measurements of tundra and taiga snow covers in Alaska, USA. Annals of Glaciology 17: 125–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, G., and Rowntree, P.R.. 1992. The boreal forests and climate. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 118: 469–497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar