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Snowmelt energy exchange in the Lake Superior Region
Author(s) -
Santeford Henry S.,
Alger George R.,
Meier John G.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr008i002p00390
Subject(s) - snowmelt , snowpack , snow , environmental science , latent heat , infiltration (hvac) , hydrology (agriculture) , moisture , snow cover , atmospheric sciences , climatology , meteorology , geology , geography , geotechnical engineering
A 2‐year study of snowmelt in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is summarized. The major results are (1) that although it was frozen in early winter, the ground thawed and remained unfrozen as snow accumulated from mid‐February on; (2) that the unfrozen ground allowed the production and infiltration of ground melt, which gave rise to a winter base flow twice that of summer; and (3) that a standard equation for predicting air‐snowpack moisture exchange was inadequate, especially when condensation occurred. It is proposed that this latter discrepancy is due to the occurrence of condensation just above, rather than at, the snow surface, so that the latent heat is released largely to the air rather than to the snowpack.