HR: 1340h
AN: C23A-0979    [Abstracts]
TI: Tracking the Duration and Magnitude of Snow Albedo and Temperature coupling during the Ablation Season
AU: * Lampkin, D J
EM: djl22@psu.edu
AF: Derrick J. Lampkin, 215 Walker Bulding, State College, PA 16802 United States
AU: Nolin, A
EM: nolina@geo.oregonstate.edu
AF: Anne Nolin, 104 Wilkinson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331 United States
AU: Yool, S
EM: yools@email.arizona.edu
AF: Stephen R. Yool, 453C Harvill Bulding, Tucson, AZ 85721 United States
AB: Remote sensing research has in the last two decades led to significant progress in monitoring and measuring certain snow hydrologic processes in particular, estimating the timing of snowmelt run-off can be improved by monitoring when the snowpack is ripe for melt. Diagnostic information about the evolving spring time snow pack can be determined using snow surface optical and thermal properties. Optical and thermal characteristics can only be useful if changes in these parameters are indicative of the overall state of the snowpack. This analysis is interested in investigating duration and magnitude of snow surface albedo and average snow pack temperature through the melt season. Automated snow surface albedo and average snowpack temperature were acquired from the Mammoth Mountain Energy Balance Monitoring Site in the California Sierra Nevada Mountain Range for the melt season of 2002. Incoming and outgoing shortwave radiation measured from 0.285-2.8�m, and average snowpack temperature data collected at this site were downloaded from the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) database website. Surface albedo was calculated using daily incoming and outgoing direct shortwave radiation. Maximum snow accumulation occurred at this site on approximately March 24, 2002. Therefore, analysis of snow surface albedo and average pack temperature coupling were examined from peak accumulation through June 30, 200 when the pack was fully depleted. The difference between daily albedo and average temperature were computed for each day. The first derivative of albedo and temperature difference was computed for the time series and used as an indicator of temporal coupling. The first derivative anomaly time series exhibited strong small perturbations (strong coupling) through the course of the ablation season with significant variation occurring on June 3, 2002 when the snowpack had depleted to approximately 80 cm in depth. After this date, significant decoupling between surface albedo and snowpack temperature occurs.
DE: 1863 Snow and ice (1827)
DE: 1640 Remote sensing
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting