A New Estimate of North American Mountain Snow Accumulation From Regional Climate Model Simulations

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  • Wrzesien, M.L.
    • Other Affiliation: Ohio State University
  • Durand, M.T.
    • Other Affiliation: Ohio State University
  • Pavelsky, T.M.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Geological Sciences
  • Kapnick, S.B.
    • Other Affiliation: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Zhang, Y.
    • Other Affiliation: Ohio State University
  • Guo, J.
    • Other Affiliation: Ohio State University
  • Shum, C.K.
    • Other Affiliation: Ohio State University
Abstract
  • Despite the importance of mountain snowpack to understanding the water and energy cycles in North America's montane regions, no reliable mountain snow climatology exists for the entire continent. We present a new estimate of mountain snow water equivalent (SWE) for North America from regional climate model simulations. Climatological peak SWE in North America mountains is 1,006 km3, 2.94 times larger than previous estimates from reanalyses. By combining this mountain SWE value with the best available global product in nonmountain areas, we estimate peak North America SWE of 1,684 km3, 55% greater than previous estimates. In our simulations, the date of maximum SWE varies widely by mountain range, from early March to mid-April. Though mountains comprise 24% of the continent's land area, we estimate that they contain ~60% of North American SWE. This new estimate is a suitable benchmark for continental- and global-scale water and energy budget studies.
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  • Article
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  • In Copyright
Journal title
  • Geophysical Research Letters
Journal volume
  • 45
Journal issue
  • 3
Page start
  • 1423
Page end
  • 1432
Language
  • English
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  • Publisher
ISSN
  • 0094-8276
Publisher
  • Blackwell Publishing Ltd

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