Abstract
In this study, the winter precipitation at a mountainous site was estimated with the help of the chemical properties of the snow layer present at the site. The first basic precondition for the chemical properties of the snow is that there should be a relationship between the Na+ concentration in the snow and the mixing height of the convective layer. In other words, the concentrations of materials having a sea-water origin that are present in the snow should be high under winter monsoon pressure conditions. The second basic precondition for the chemical properties of the snow is that the concentration of anthropogenic, acidic materials in the snow should be high under low-pressure conditions of the Pacific coast and/or the Japan Sea. That is, a high content rate of acidic materials should be observed in the snow under low-pressure conditions. Nine characteristic snow layers were extracted from the entire snow cover (399 cm in depth). Three of the nine layers were found to have precipitated and formed under winter monsoon pressure conditions. The remaining six layers were found to have precipitated and formed under low-pressure conditions. Precipitation dates were identified for all nine layers using the information on weather conditions. The water equivalent of snow for eight periods was calculated for two extracted layers. The water equivalent of snow at the study site was examined with the precipitation observed by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The water equivalent of snow at the study site showed a high correlation coefficient with the observed precipitation in the northwestern area. On the other hand, the water equivalent of snow at the study site showed less correlation with the precipitation observed at the southeastern points. These relationships are considered reasonable, given the weather conditions of the study site in the winter season.
