Abstract
A heat balance method is applied to estimate melt water in a landslide area of a heavy snow district. Comparisons between calculated fluctuation of heat fluxes and observed melt water show that during the early period of snow cover when the heat flux is lower, melt water can be estimated by a heat balance method. When melt water is generated in the surface layer of snow in a middle period of snow cover, most of it can not reach the bottom of the snow pack because of the low temperatures and ice layers below the snow surface. Throughout the snowmelt season, 40-60mm/day of melt water is generated by the seasonally increasing short wave radiation, sensible and latent heat fluxes. In the snowmelt season, the calculated heat flux value corresponds to the observed melt water. During rain on snow events, melt water cannot be accurately estimated by the heat balance method because of unknown factors such as water holding capcity of snow cover.
