Numerical simulation of sensitivities of snow melting to spectral composition of the incoming solar radiation |
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| Authors: | Weiping Li Shufen Sun Biao Wang Xin Liu |
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| Institution: | Laboratory for Climate Studies, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100081;
National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100081;Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029;Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029;Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085 |
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| Abstract: | Snow albedo is an important factor influencing the snow surface energy budget and snow melting,
yet uncertainties remain in the calculation of spectrally resolved snow surface albedo because the spectral
composition (visible versus near infrared) of the incident solar radiation is seldom available. The influence
of the spectral composition of the incoming solar radiation on the snow surface albedo, snow surface energy
budget, and final snow ablation is investigated through sensitivity experiments of four snow seasons at two
open sites in the Alps by using a multi-layer Snow-Atmosphere-Soil-Transfer scheme (SAST). Since the snow
albedo in the near infrared (NIR) spectral band is significantly lower than that in the visible (VIS) band,
and almost the entire NIR part of the solar radiation is absorbed in the top layer of the snow pack, given
a fixed amount of incoming solar radiation, a lower VIS/NIR ratio implies that more NIR radiation is
reaching the ground surface and more is absorbed by the top layer of the snow pack, therefore, speeding
up the snow melting and increasing the surface runoff, although a lesser part of the solar radiation in
the visible band is transmitted into and trapped by the sub-layer of the snow pack. The above VIS/NIR ratio
effect of the incoming solar radiation can result in a couple of days difference in the timing of snow
ablation and it becomes more significant in late spring when the total solar radiation is intensified with
seasonal evolution. Snow aging also slightly intensifies this VIS/NIR ratio effect. |
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| Keywords: | simulation snow albedo snow melt spectral composition solar radiation |
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