Snow depth structure, fractal behavior, and interannual consistency over Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland

Clemenzi I, Pellicciotti F, Burlando P. 2018. Snow depth structure, fractal behavior, and interannual consistency over Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. Water Resources Research. 54(10), 7929–7945.

Download (ext.)

Journal Article | Published | English

Scopus indexed
Author
Clemenzi, I.; Pellicciotti, FrancescaISTA; Burlando, P.
Abstract
Snow depth patterns over glaciers are controlled by precipitation, snow redistribution due to wind and avalanches, and the exchange of energy with the atmosphere that determines snow ablation. While many studies have advanced the understanding of ablation processes, less is known about winter snow patterns and their variability over glaciers. We analyze snow depth on Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, in the two winter seasons 2006–2007 and 2010–2011 to (1) understand whether snow depth over an alpine glacier at the end of the accumulation season exhibits a behavior similar to the one observed on single slopes and vegetated areas; and (2) investigate the snow pattern consistency over the two accumulation seasons. We perform this analysis on a data set of high-resolution lidar-derived snow depth using variograms and fractal parameters. Our first main result is that snow depth patterns on the glacier exhibit a multiscale behavior, with a scale break around 20 m after which the fractal dimension increases, indicating more autocorrelated structure before the scale break than after. Second, this behavior is consistent over the two years, with fractal parameters and their spatial variability almost constant in the two seasons. We also show that snow depth patterns exhibit a distinct behavior in the glacier tongue and the upper catchment, with longer correlation distances on the tongue in the direction of the main winds, suggesting spatial distinctions that are likely induced by different processes and that should be taken into account when extrapolating snow depth from limited samples.
Publishing Year
Date Published
2018-06-07
Journal Title
Water Resources Research
Volume
54
Issue
10
Page
7929-7945
ISSN
eISSN
IST-REx-ID

Cite this

Clemenzi I, Pellicciotti F, Burlando P. Snow depth structure, fractal behavior, and interannual consistency over Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. Water Resources Research. 2018;54(10):7929-7945. doi:10.1029/2017wr021606
Clemenzi, I., Pellicciotti, F., & Burlando, P. (2018). Snow depth structure, fractal behavior, and interannual consistency over Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. Water Resources Research. American Geophysical Union. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017wr021606
Clemenzi, I., Francesca Pellicciotti, and P. Burlando. “Snow Depth Structure, Fractal Behavior, and Interannual Consistency over Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland.” Water Resources Research. American Geophysical Union, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017wr021606.
I. Clemenzi, F. Pellicciotti, and P. Burlando, “Snow depth structure, fractal behavior, and interannual consistency over Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland,” Water Resources Research, vol. 54, no. 10. American Geophysical Union, pp. 7929–7945, 2018.
Clemenzi I, Pellicciotti F, Burlando P. 2018. Snow depth structure, fractal behavior, and interannual consistency over Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland. Water Resources Research. 54(10), 7929–7945.
Clemenzi, I., et al. “Snow Depth Structure, Fractal Behavior, and Interannual Consistency over Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Switzerland.” Water Resources Research, vol. 54, no. 10, American Geophysical Union, 2018, pp. 7929–45, doi:10.1029/2017wr021606.
All files available under the following license(s):
Copyright Statement:
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. [...]

Link(s) to Main File(s)
Access Level
OA Open Access

Export

Marked Publications

Open Data ISTA Research Explorer

Search this title in

Google Scholar