THE ESTIMATE OF THE SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT IN THE DAM BASIN USING SNOW DISTRIBUTION OF HIGH RESOLUTION DEM

Abstract

To clarify the water balance of the melting snow period, we estimated the snow water equivalent from spatial snow distribution using a high resolution digital elevation model (DEM). The paper built a model to estimate a snow water equivalent using the spatial snow distribution provided from an airborne laser altimetry of the snow peak obtained in the Jozankei Dam basin in Sapporo. In addition, we estimated the secular variation of the snow water equivalent by incorporating snow depth and snow surveys observed by a dam in a model.As a result of analysis, the presumed precision included an error of 20% compared with the average snowmelt rate found from the water balance. Additionally, the adaptability of the model as a method to confirm snow surveys was confirmed.