Articles | Volume 24, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-245-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-245-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
30 Jan 2024
Research article |
| 30 Jan 2024
| 30 Jan 2024
Rain-on-snow responses to warmer Pyrenees: a sensitivity analysis using a physically based snow hydrological model
Josep Bonsoms
Department of Geography, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Campus de Aula Dei, Zaragoza, Spain
Esteban Alonso-González
Centre d'Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphère (CESBIO), Université de Toulouse, CNES/CNRS/IRD/UPS, Toulouse, France
César Deschamps-Berger
Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Campus de Aula Dei, Zaragoza, Spain
Marc Oliva
Department of Geography, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Nora Helbig, Yves Bühler, Lucie Eberhard, César Deschamps-Berger, Simon Gascoin, Marie Dumont, Jesus Revuelto, Jeff S. Deems, and Tobias Jonas
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César Deschamps-Berger, Simon Gascoin, Etienne Berthier, Jeffrey Deems, Ethan Gutmann, Amaury Dehecq, David Shean, and Marie Dumont
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We evaluate a recent method to map snow depth based on satellite photogrammetry. We compare it with accurate airborne laser-scanning measurements in the Sierra Nevada, USA. We find that satellite data capture the relationship between snow depth and elevation at the catchment scale and also small-scale features like snow drifts and avalanche deposits. We conclude that satellite photogrammetry stands out as a convenient method to estimate the spatial distribution of snow depth in high mountains.
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Short summary
Climate warming is changing mountain snowpack patterns, leading in some cases to rain-on-snow (ROS) events. Here we analyzed near-present ROS and its sensitivity to climate warming across the Pyrenees. ROS increases during the coldest months of the year but decreases in the warmest months and areas under severe warming due to snow cover depletion. Faster snow ablation is anticipated in the coldest and northern slopes of the range. Relevant implications in mountain ecosystem are anticipated.
Climate warming is changing mountain snowpack patterns, leading in some cases to rain-on-snow...
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