| 1. |
- Cosgrove, Christopher, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental controls on snow water equivalent in two sub-Arctic mountain catchments
- 2013
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Spatial variability of seasonal snow depth poses a challenge when estimating snow water equivalent (SWE) from in-situ measurements in mountainous areas. Poor accessibility, complex topographic effects and localized microclimates make extrapolation of in-situ SWE measurements to a basin scale difficult. Remotely-sensed passive microwave SWE products are also inaccurate in complex terrain and/or at the forest-alpine tundra transition zone. To address these caveats, we investigated the relative importance of landscape qualities (altitude, slope, aspect, vegetation) and climate (winter temperatures, precipitation) on SWE distribution in two sub-Arctic mountainous catchments in Hemavan, Sweden, and Wolf Creek, Yukon, Canada. The two catchments are comparable, but have contrasted climate regimes. In-situ SWE measurements were made in March-April 2014 across the forest-tundra ecotone in both catchments. These were supplemented with historical snow-survey data since 2012 in Hemavan, and 1993 in Wolf Creek. Pairwise linear regressions of SWE against different landscape factors indicate that overall, altitude exerts the largest control on SWE at both Hemavan and Wolf Creek, but its effect is lesser within individual vegetation zones. In other respects, the two sites differ. SWE is inversely correlated to surface slope at forested sites in Hemavan (R^2 = 0.57, p = 0.25), but not in Wolf Creek. Slope aspect is positively correlated with SWE at forest-tundra transition sites (R^2 = 0.49, p = 0.12) in Wolf Creek, but not in Hemavan. For alpine tundra sites, slope angle strongly influences SWE in Hemavan (R^2 = 0.58, p = 0.24), but only weakly in Wolf Creek (R^2 = 0.05, p = 0.71). We discuss possible causes of these inter-catchment differences, and also evaluate the effect of inter-annual climate variations on SWE distribution at Wolf Creek using the long-term snow-survey record. Finally, we compare and discuss SWE estimates obtained by three different field measurement methods.
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| 2. |
- Ingvander, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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In situ sampled snow particle sizes of the East Antarctic ice sheet and their relation to physical and remotely sensed snow surface parameters
- 2013
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Ingår i: Annals of Glaciology. - 0260-3055 .- 1727-5644. ; 54:62, s. 166-174
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Knowledge of snow properties across Antarctica is important in estimating how climate could potentially influence the mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet. However, measuring these variables has proven to be challenging because appropriate techniques have not yet been developed and extensive datasets of field estimates are lacking. The goal of this study was to estimate the relationship between field-observed snow particle-size parameters from across the East Antarctic ice sheet and a suite of spatial datasets (i.e. topography, remote-sensing data) using a principal component analysis (PCA). Five snow particle-size parameters were correlated to spatial datasets of the following five groups: (1) relief properties such as elevation and slope; (2) remote-sensing data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors; (3) spatially interpolated data (i.e. 10 m maps of temperature and approximate snow accumulation in kg m(-2) a(-1)); (4) field-retrieved data on surface roughness; and (5) in situ elevation and distance from the coast. The results show that the relief parameter slope correlated best with the snow particle length and area (r=0.76, r=0.80). Further, the PCA indicated that the different remote-sensing parameters correlated differently with the size parameters and that the most common parameter in visual analysis, particle length (grain diameter), is not always the optimal parameter to characterize the snow particle size as, for example, area correlates better to slope and aspect than length.
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| 3. |
- Ingvander, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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Particle Size Sampling and Object-Oriented Image Analysis for Field Investigations of Snow Particle Size, Shape, and Distribution
- 2013
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Ingår i: Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1523-0430 .- 1938-4246. ; 45:3, s. 330-341
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Snow particle size is an important parameter strongly affecting snow cover broadband albedo from seasonally snow covered areas and ice sheets. It is also important in remote sensing analyses because it influences the reflectance and scattering properties of the snow. We have developed a digital image processing method for the capture and analysis of data of snow particle size and shape. The method is suitable for quick and reliable data capture in the field. Traditional methods based on visual inspection of samples have been used but do not yield quantitative data. Our method provides an alternative to both simpler and more complex methods by providing a tool that limits the subjective effect of the visual analysis and provides a quantitative particle size distribution. The method involves image analysis software and field efficient instrumentation in order to develop a complete process-chain easily implemented under field conditions. The output from the analysis is a two-dimensional analysis of particle size, shape, and distributions for each sample. The results of the segmentation process were validated against manual delineation of snow particles. The developed method improves snow particle analysis because it is quantitative, reproducible, and applicable for different types of field sites.
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| 4. |
- Ingvander, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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Seasonal and interannual variability of elemental carbon in the snowpack of Storglaciaren, northern Sweden
- 2013
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Ingår i: Annals of Glaciology. - 0260-3055 .- 1727-5644. ; 54:62, s. 50-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the variability of elemental carbon (EC) over 3 years (2009-11) in the winter snowpack of Storglaciaren, Sweden. The goal of this study was to relate the seasonal variation in EC to specific snow accumulation events in order to improve understanding of how different atmospheric circulation patterns control the deposition of EC. Specifically, we related meteorological parameters (e.g. wind direction, precipitation) to snow physical properties, EC content, stable-isotope 8180 ratios and anion concentrations in the snowpack. The distribution of EC in the snowpack varied between years. Low EC contents corresponded to a predominance of weather systems originating in the northwest, i.e. North Atlantic. Analysis of single layers within the snowpacks showed that snow layers enriched in heavy isotopes coincided predominantly with low EC contents but high chloride and sulfate concentration. Based on this isotopic and geochemical evidence, snow deposited during these events had a strong oceanic, i.e. North Atlantic, imprint. In contrast, snow layers with high EC content coincided with snow layers depleted in heavy isotopes but high anion concentrations, indicating a more continental source of air masses and origin of EC from industrial emissions.
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