Assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA5 to Model the Snow Water Equivalent in the High Atlas (1981–2019)
Melt water runoff from seasonal snow in the High Atlas range is an essential water resource in Morocco. However, there are only few meteorological stations in the high elevation areas and therefore it is challenging to estimate the distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) based only on in situ me...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/7/890 |
| _version_ | 1797540173877084160 |
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| author | Mohamed Wassim Baba Abdelghani Boudhar Simon Gascoin Lahoucine Hanich Ahmed Marchane Abdelghani Chehbouni |
| author_facet | Mohamed Wassim Baba Abdelghani Boudhar Simon Gascoin Lahoucine Hanich Ahmed Marchane Abdelghani Chehbouni |
| author_sort | Mohamed Wassim Baba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Melt water runoff from seasonal snow in the High Atlas range is an essential water resource in Morocco. However, there are only few meteorological stations in the high elevation areas and therefore it is challenging to estimate the distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) based only on in situ measurements. In this work we assessed the performance of ERA5 and MERRA-2 climate reanalysis to compute the spatial distribution of SWE in the High Atlas. We forced a distributed snowpack evolution model (SnowModel) with downscaled ERA5 and MERRA-2 data at 200 m spatial resolution. The model was run over the period 1981 to 2019 (37 water years). Model outputs were assessed using observations of river discharge, snow height and MODIS snow-covered area. The results show a good performance for both MERRA-2 and ERA5 in terms of reproducing the snowpack state for the majority of water years, with a lower bias using ERA5 forcing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:56:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-995cf04e3c184103ac7471a1d68966b8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:56:19Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-995cf04e3c184103ac7471a1d68966b82023-11-21T11:51:45ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-03-0113789010.3390/w13070890Assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA5 to Model the Snow Water Equivalent in the High Atlas (1981–2019)Mohamed Wassim Baba0Abdelghani Boudhar1Simon Gascoin2Lahoucine Hanich3Ahmed Marchane4Abdelghani Chehbouni5Center for Remote Sensing Application (CRSA), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoCenter for Remote Sensing Application (CRSA), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoCESBIO, Université de Toulouse, CNES/CNRS/IRD/INRA/UPS, 31400 Toulouse, FranceCenter for Remote Sensing Application (CRSA), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoCenter for Remote Sensing Application (CRSA), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoCenter for Remote Sensing Application (CRSA), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, MoroccoMelt water runoff from seasonal snow in the High Atlas range is an essential water resource in Morocco. However, there are only few meteorological stations in the high elevation areas and therefore it is challenging to estimate the distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) based only on in situ measurements. In this work we assessed the performance of ERA5 and MERRA-2 climate reanalysis to compute the spatial distribution of SWE in the High Atlas. We forced a distributed snowpack evolution model (SnowModel) with downscaled ERA5 and MERRA-2 data at 200 m spatial resolution. The model was run over the period 1981 to 2019 (37 water years). Model outputs were assessed using observations of river discharge, snow height and MODIS snow-covered area. The results show a good performance for both MERRA-2 and ERA5 in terms of reproducing the snowpack state for the majority of water years, with a lower bias using ERA5 forcing.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/7/890snow coversnow water equivalentMoroccoMERRA-2ERA5 |
| spellingShingle | Mohamed Wassim Baba Abdelghani Boudhar Simon Gascoin Lahoucine Hanich Ahmed Marchane Abdelghani Chehbouni Assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA5 to Model the Snow Water Equivalent in the High Atlas (1981–2019) Water snow cover snow water equivalent Morocco MERRA-2 ERA5 |
| title | Assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA5 to Model the Snow Water Equivalent in the High Atlas (1981–2019) |
| title_full | Assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA5 to Model the Snow Water Equivalent in the High Atlas (1981–2019) |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA5 to Model the Snow Water Equivalent in the High Atlas (1981–2019) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA5 to Model the Snow Water Equivalent in the High Atlas (1981–2019) |
| title_short | Assessment of MERRA-2 and ERA5 to Model the Snow Water Equivalent in the High Atlas (1981–2019) |
| title_sort | assessment of merra 2 and era5 to model the snow water equivalent in the high atlas 1981 2019 |
| topic | snow cover snow water equivalent Morocco MERRA-2 ERA5 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/7/890 |
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