Estimates of snowmelt by a heat balance method

Abstract

A heat balance method to estimate the amount of snowmelt has been developed and applied. (1) The solar radiation and the downward long wave radiation were observed as well as other meteorological parameters at Sawauchi, Iwate prefecture, for the spring of 1985. Using these data, the amount of snowmelt was calculated. The calculated values are roughly in agreement with the observed ones. (2) A method is shown to estimate the solar radiation and the downward long wave radiation from duration of sunshine. Using this method, the amount of snowmelt can be calculated for a region with no radiation data. (3) With application of the present heat balance method to the basin of River Waga, the integrated amount of snowmelt over an area of 583 km² was estimated. The estimated value corresponds to the run-off measured at the site of Yuda Dam. (4) Several graphs of the amount of daily snowmelt versus several external parameters are presented.