An investigation of snowmelt runoff on experimental plots in Lulea,Sweden |
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| Authors: | Goran Westerstrom Vijay P Singh |
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| Abstract: | Empirical characteristics of snowmelt runoff are derived from observations made during snowmelt in a six‐year period from 1980 to 1985 on three experimental plots and three plates located on the campus of the Lulea University of Technology in Lulea, Sweden. The plots had asphalt, gravel and grass surfaces. The plates were of different designs with one having the bottom cut out so that it was more like a frame. With the assumption that the asphalt surface of the plots was impervious, infiltration of meltwater into gravel and grass surfaces was deduced. Unlike rainfall infiltration, the graph of snowmelt infiltration rate resembled a flow hydrograph, with a distinct rise, a peak and a distinct recession. A strong linear relationship between the snowmelt runoff hydrograph peak and the snowmelt amount was found, which explained more than 90% of the variability in the snowmelt peak. This is in contrast with rainfall runoff where the relationship between runoff peak and volume is decidedly non‐linear. Hourly snowmelt runoff peak and daily snowmelt amount were found to exhibit nearly constant skew and follow approximately a Gumbel frequency distribution. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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