Evaluating Distributed Snow Model Resolution and Meteorology Parameterizations Against Streamflow Observations: Finer Is Not Always Better. Barnhart, T. B., Putman, A. L., Heldmyer, A. J., Rey, D. M., Hammond, J. C., Driscoll, J. M., & Sexstone, G. A. Water Resources Research, 60(7):e2023WR035982, 2024. _eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2023WR035982![Evaluating Distributed Snow Model Resolution and Meteorology Parameterizations Against Streamflow Observations: Finer Is Not Always Better [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex Estimating snow conditions is often done using numerical snowpack evolution models at spatial resolutions of 500 m and greater; however, snow depth in complex terrain often varies on sub-meter scales. This study investigated how the spatial distribution of simulated snow conditions varied across seven model spatial resolutions from 30 to 1,000 m and over two meteorological data sets, coarser (≈12 km) and finer (4 km). Simulated snow covered area (SCA) was compared to remotely sensed SCA and simulated watershed mean peak snow water equivalent (SWE) was compared to four streamflow statistics representing different water management-relevant aspects of the hydrograph using non-parametric correlations. April 1 SWE tended to increase with model resolution, particularly below 4,000 masl. Finer meteorology simulations produced deeper April 1 SWE than coarser meteorology simulations. Finer resolution snow simulations tended to produce longer snowmelt durations and slower snowmelt rates than coarser resolution simulations. Finer resolution simulations had better agreement with SCA for both meteorology data sets, particularly at high and low elevations. However, finer resolution simulations did not generally outperform coarser simulations in snow versus streamflow statistic correlations. Snow versus streamflow correlations were most sensitive to meteorology, watershed properties, and then resolution. Watershed physiographic properties such as wetness index may increase snow versus streamflow metric correlations while elevation and slope may decrease correlations. At watershed scales, these results suggest that simulation resolution and choice of meteorology is less important than the physiographic properties of the watershed; however, if resolving snow distribution across the landscape is important, finer-resolution simulations are useful.
@article{barnhart_evaluating_2024,
title = {Evaluating {Distributed} {Snow} {Model} {Resolution} and {Meteorology} {Parameterizations} {Against} {Streamflow} {Observations}: {Finer} {Is} {Not} {Always} {Better}},
volume = {60},
copyright = {Published 2024. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.},
issn = {1944-7973},
shorttitle = {Evaluating {Distributed} {Snow} {Model} {Resolution} and {Meteorology} {Parameterizations} {Against} {Streamflow} {Observations}},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2023WR035982},
doi = {10.1029/2023WR035982},
abstract = {Estimating snow conditions is often done using numerical snowpack evolution models at spatial resolutions of 500 m and greater; however, snow depth in complex terrain often varies on sub-meter scales. This study investigated how the spatial distribution of simulated snow conditions varied across seven model spatial resolutions from 30 to 1,000 m and over two meteorological data sets, coarser (≈12 km) and finer (4 km). Simulated snow covered area (SCA) was compared to remotely sensed SCA and simulated watershed mean peak snow water equivalent (SWE) was compared to four streamflow statistics representing different water management-relevant aspects of the hydrograph using non-parametric correlations. April 1 SWE tended to increase with model resolution, particularly below 4,000 masl. Finer meteorology simulations produced deeper April 1 SWE than coarser meteorology simulations. Finer resolution snow simulations tended to produce longer snowmelt durations and slower snowmelt rates than coarser resolution simulations. Finer resolution simulations had better agreement with SCA for both meteorology data sets, particularly at high and low elevations. However, finer resolution simulations did not generally outperform coarser simulations in snow versus streamflow statistic correlations. Snow versus streamflow correlations were most sensitive to meteorology, watershed properties, and then resolution. Watershed physiographic properties such as wetness index may increase snow versus streamflow metric correlations while elevation and slope may decrease correlations. At watershed scales, these results suggest that simulation resolution and choice of meteorology is less important than the physiographic properties of the watershed; however, if resolving snow distribution across the landscape is important, finer-resolution simulations are useful.},
language = {en},
number = {7},
urldate = {2025-01-27},
journal = {Water Resources Research},
author = {Barnhart, Theodore B. and Putman, Annie L. and Heldmyer, Aaron J. and Rey, David M. and Hammond, John C. and Driscoll, Jessica M. and Sexstone, Graham A.},
year = {2024},
note = {\_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2023WR035982},
keywords = {NALCMS},
pages = {e2023WR035982},
}
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This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.","issn":"1944-7973","shorttitle":"Evaluating Distributed Snow Model Resolution and Meteorology Parameterizations Against Streamflow Observations","url":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2023WR035982","doi":"10.1029/2023WR035982","abstract":"Estimating snow conditions is often done using numerical snowpack evolution models at spatial resolutions of 500 m and greater; however, snow depth in complex terrain often varies on sub-meter scales. This study investigated how the spatial distribution of simulated snow conditions varied across seven model spatial resolutions from 30 to 1,000 m and over two meteorological data sets, coarser (≈12 km) and finer (4 km). Simulated snow covered area (SCA) was compared to remotely sensed SCA and simulated watershed mean peak snow water equivalent (SWE) was compared to four streamflow statistics representing different water management-relevant aspects of the hydrograph using non-parametric correlations. April 1 SWE tended to increase with model resolution, particularly below 4,000 masl. Finer meteorology simulations produced deeper April 1 SWE than coarser meteorology simulations. Finer resolution snow simulations tended to produce longer snowmelt durations and slower snowmelt rates than coarser resolution simulations. Finer resolution simulations had better agreement with SCA for both meteorology data sets, particularly at high and low elevations. However, finer resolution simulations did not generally outperform coarser simulations in snow versus streamflow statistic correlations. Snow versus streamflow correlations were most sensitive to meteorology, watershed properties, and then resolution. 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Simulated snow covered area (SCA) was compared to remotely sensed SCA and simulated watershed mean peak snow water equivalent (SWE) was compared to four streamflow statistics representing different water management-relevant aspects of the hydrograph using non-parametric correlations. April 1 SWE tended to increase with model resolution, particularly below 4,000 masl. Finer meteorology simulations produced deeper April 1 SWE than coarser meteorology simulations. Finer resolution snow simulations tended to produce longer snowmelt durations and slower snowmelt rates than coarser resolution simulations. Finer resolution simulations had better agreement with SCA for both meteorology data sets, particularly at high and low elevations. However, finer resolution simulations did not generally outperform coarser simulations in snow versus streamflow statistic correlations. Snow versus streamflow correlations were most sensitive to meteorology, watershed properties, and then resolution. 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