Snow and climate : physical processes, surface energy exchange and modeling / edited by Richard L. Armstrong, Eric Brun.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Armstrong, Richard L. (Richard Ley), 1941-2023.

Brun, Eric.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Snow.

Climatic changes.

Snow--Measurement.

Snow--Mathematical models.

Physical Description:

xxii, 222 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, [2008]

Summary:

The extent and variability of seasonal snow cover are important parameters in the climate system, due to their effects on energy and moisture budgets, and because surface temperature is highly dependent on the presence or absence of snow cover. In turn, snow cover trends serve as key indicators of climate change.

In the last two decades many new methods and techniques have become available for studying snow-climate relationships. Satellites provided the first capability for monitoring snow cover extent at continental and hemispheric scales, enabling the investigation of synoptic-scale snow cover-climate linkages. This global view of snow cover has been accompanied by rapid advances in snow modeling physics to represent snow cover and snow processes in Global Climate Models (GCMs). These advances have changed the way we look at snow cover, and the main goal of this book is to provide an up-to-date synthesis of the current state of snow-climate science that reflects this new perspective. This volume will provide an excellent synthesis for researchers and advanced students.

Contents:

1.1 Basic properties of snow 1

1.2 Importance of snow in the climate system 4

1.3 Importance of snow in natural and human systems 6

1.4 Climate change implications 7

1.5 Layout of book 9

2 Physical processes within the snow cover and their parameterization / Rachel E. Jordan, Mary R. Albert, Eric Brun 12

2.2 General characteristics 19

2.3 Thermal behavior of snow 35

2.4 Fluid flow behavior in snow 40

2.5 Radiative properties of snow 53

3 Snow-atmosphere energy and mass balance / John C. King, John W. Pomeroy, Donald M. Gray, Charles Fierz, Paul M. B. Fohn, Richard J. Harding, Rachel E. Jordan, Eric Martin, Christian Pluss 70

3.2 Equations of energy and mass balance 70

3.3 The fluxes involved in the energy balance 73

3.4 Snow accumulation 83

3.5 Examples of energy and mass balances 92

4 Snow-cover parameterization and modeling / Eric Brun, Zong-Liang Yang, Richard Essery, Judah Cohen 125

4.1 History of numerical modeling of snow cover 125

4.2 Description of recent snow models 129

4.3 Sensitivity of energy and mass fluxes at the snow-atmosphere interface to internal and interface parameters 136

4.4 Snow parameterization in GCMs 145

4.5 The global snow coverage in climate change scenarios 156

5 Snow-cover data: measurement, products, and sources / Ross Brown, Richard L. Armstrong 181

5.2 In situ snow data 182

5.3 Remote sensing data 192

5.4 Operational snow-cover products 203

5.5 Global-continental snow-cover climatology: measured and modeled 205

Appendix Snow model questionnaire 217.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521854542

0521854547

OCLC:

166382301