---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '22431'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: The snow and glaciers of the Peruvian Andes provide vital water supplies in
    a region facing water scarcity and substantial glacier change. However, there
    remains a lack of understanding of snow processes and quantification of the contribution
    of melt to runoff. Here we apply a distributed glacio-hydrological model over
    the Rio Santa basin to disentangle the role of the cryosphere in the Andean water
    cycle. Only at the highest elevations (>5000 m a.s.l.) is the snow cover continuous;
    at lower elevations, the snowpack is thin and ephemeral, with rapid cycles of
    snowfall and melt. Due to the large catchment area affected by ephemeral snow,
    its contribution to catchment inputs is substantial (23% and 38% in the wet and
    dry season, respectively). Ice melt is crucial in the mid-dry season (up to 44%
    of inputs). Our results improve estimates of water fluxes and call for further
    process-based modelling across the Andes.
article_number: '434'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Catriona L.
  full_name: Fyffe, Catriona L.
  last_name: Fyffe
- first_name: Emily
  full_name: Potter, Emily
  last_name: Potter
- first_name: Evan
  full_name: Miles, Evan
  last_name: Miles
- first_name: Thomas E.
  full_name: Shaw, Thomas E.
  last_name: Shaw
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: McCarthy, Michael
  last_name: McCarthy
- first_name: Andrew
  full_name: Orr, Andrew
  last_name: Orr
- first_name: Edwin
  full_name: Loarte, Edwin
  last_name: Loarte
- first_name: Katy
  full_name: Medina, Katy
  last_name: Medina
- first_name: Simone
  full_name: Fatichi, Simone
  id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
  last_name: Fatichi
- first_name: Rob
  full_name: Hellström, Rob
  last_name: Hellström
- first_name: Michel
  full_name: Baraer, Michel
  last_name: Baraer
- first_name: Emilio
  full_name: Mateo, Emilio
  last_name: Mateo
- first_name: Alejo
  full_name: Cochachin, Alejo
  last_name: Cochachin
- first_name: Matthew
  full_name: Westoby, Matthew
  last_name: Westoby
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  last_name: Pellicciotti
citation:
  ama: Fyffe CL, Potter E, Miles E, et al. Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and
    runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes. <i>Communications Earth &#38; Environment</i>.
    2025;6. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x">10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x</a>
  apa: Fyffe, C. L., Potter, E., Miles, E., Shaw, T. E., McCarthy, M., Orr, A., …
    Pellicciotti, F. (2025). Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics
    in the Peruvian Andes. <i>Communications Earth &#38; Environment</i>. Springer
    Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x">https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x</a>
  chicago: Fyffe, Catriona L., Emily Potter, Evan Miles, Thomas E. Shaw, Michael McCarthy,
    Andrew Orr, Edwin Loarte, et al. “Thin and Ephemeral Snow Shapes Melt and Runoff
    Dynamics in the Peruvian Andes.” <i>Communications Earth &#38; Environment</i>.
    Springer Nature, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x">https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x</a>.
  ieee: C. L. Fyffe <i>et al.</i>, “Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff
    dynamics in the Peruvian Andes,” <i>Communications Earth &#38; Environment</i>,
    vol. 6. Springer Nature, 2025.
  ista: Fyffe CL, Potter E, Miles E, Shaw TE, McCarthy M, Orr A, Loarte E, Medina
    K, Fatichi S, Hellström R, Baraer M, Mateo E, Cochachin A, Westoby M, Pellicciotti
    F. 2025. Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian
    Andes. Communications Earth &#38; Environment. 6, 434.
  mla: Fyffe, Catriona L., et al. “Thin and Ephemeral Snow Shapes Melt and Runoff
    Dynamics in the Peruvian Andes.” <i>Communications Earth &#38; Environment</i>,
    vol. 6, 434, Springer Nature, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x">10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x</a>.
  short: C.L. Fyffe, E. Potter, E. Miles, T.E. Shaw, M. McCarthy, A. Orr, E. Loarte,
    K. Medina, S. Fatichi, R. Hellström, M. Baraer, E. Mateo, A. Cochachin, M. Westoby,
    F. Pellicciotti, Communications Earth &#38; Environment 6 (2025).
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:23Z
date_published: 2025-06-05T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-03T13:31:18Z
day: '05'
ddc:
- '550'
doi: 10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x
extern: '1'
external_id:
  pmid:
  - '40486185'
intvolume: '         6'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x
month: '06'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
pmid: 1
publication: Communications Earth & Environment
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2662-4435
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 6
year: '2025'
...