INM model of seasonal snow evolution

Abstract

This study describes a snowmelt model based on a physical heat balance method. It is an adaptation of the one layer model proposed by Kondo and Yamazaki (1990). As this last one, it takes into account both the heat balance at the snow surface and that of the entire snow cover, and it predicts both the snow surface temperature and the freezing depth. As a new contribution, the model predicts also the evolution of the snow's liquid water content. The energy equation is formulated by means of two energy variables: the Liquid Content and the Cold Content. Percolation depends on mass liquid fraction trough Darcy's law.