Analysis of Snowpack Accumulation and Melting with a Heat Balance Approach

—Role of heat flux from underground in melting snow—

Abstract

Accumulation and melting of the snowpack including the role of heat flux from underground was investigated considering the heat balance. Heat balance data were recorded for a period of 4 years at a forest experimental station in Ishikawa Prefecture, which is located in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The findings of the research are as follows. (1) The observed temporal changes in snowpack depth and snow density were well reproduced using our model of snowpack accumulation and melting. (2) From the analysis of temporal changes in input and output heat fluxes of the snowpack, the importance of individual components of heat balance in snowpack accumulation and melting was clarified. (3) Heat fluxes from the surface and bottom of the snowpack in the very cold season accounted for a maximum of about 45% and an average of about 33% of snowmelt at the bottom of the snowpack.