• DOI:10.1175/1520-0442(2003)016<1855:SOSFCF>2.0.CO;2
• Corpus ID: 52263179

Sublimation of Snow from Coniferous Forests in a Climate Model

@article{Essery2003SublimationOS,
  title={Sublimation of Snow from Coniferous Forests in a Climate Model},
  author={Richard Essery and John W. Pomeroy and Juha Parviainen and Pascal Storck},
  journal={Journal of Climate},
  year={2003},
  volume={16},
  pages={1855-1864}
}

• R. Essery, J. Pomeroy, +1 author P. Storck
• Published 1 June 2003
• Environmental Science
• Journal of Climate

Improved representations of snow interception by coniferous forest canopies and sublimation of intercepted snow are implemented in a land surface model. Driven with meteorological observations from forested sites in Canada, the United States, and Sweden, the modified model is found to give reduced sublimation, better simulations of snow loads on and below canopies, and improved predictions of snowmelt runoff. When coupled to an atmospheric model in a GCM, however, drying and warming of the air because of the reduced sublimation provides a feedback that limits the impact of the new canopy snow model on the predicted sublimation. There is little impact on the average annual snowmelt runoff in the GCM, but runoff is delayed and peak runoff increased by the introduction of the canopy snow model.