Abstract
ABSTRACTFull snow-pit observations were performed on a monthly basis over ten winter seasons from 1995 to 2004, at 15 study plots spaced at 100 m elevation intervals (1300–2700 m a.s.l.) in the mountainous forest of the Japanese Central Alps. We observed 514 pits with an average depth of 1.12 m. Density measurements were taken in 2610 snow layers in total. Monthly trends indicate that snow depth has a strong linear correlation with elevation and that the mean density of snow cover has a moderate linear correlation with elevation in midwinter. Snow water equivalent can increase as a quadratic function of elevation in January and February. For this reason, the influence of overburden load and wind packing is elevation-dependent from January to February, a period when a facet-prominent snowpack existed on account of low snow and air temperatures. The density of depth hoar is greater at higher elevations than it is for rounded grains in midwinter due to densification. On forested slopes, with increasing elevation, snowfall frequency and the impact of wind upon snow increases while air temperature decreases, causing elevational variance in grain shapes.
Highlights
Seasonal snow affects humans by shaping global climate and water resources
We examined the relationship between elevation and snowpack on forested slopes, focusing on density and grain shape, based on a decade of full snow-pit observations in the Japanese Central Alps
Our study suggests that snow depth has a strong linear correlation with elevation, and that mean density of snow cover has a moderate linear correlation with elevation in midwinter
Summary
Seasonal snow affects humans by shaping global climate and water resources. The layer structure of the snowpack reflects the characteristics of the region and climate. The study of regional characteristics of mountainous snowpacks has helped to derive avalanche warning applications The study of mountain snow cover from a hydrological viewpoint began during the 1920s–1930s in Europe, in the 1930s in the western USA, and in the 1950s in Japan (e.g. Yamada, 1983; Laternser and Schneebeli, 2003; Helms and others, 2008). Observation data collected at sites over a limited period in the snow season still leave room for doubt with regard to the selection of the most appropriate values, such as snow water equivalents in mountainous regions. Given the varied mountainous snowpack conditions and catchment water balance in different seasons, it is important to conduct snow surveys throughout a snow season at different elevations
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