Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas
In this study we quantified the sensitivity of snow to climate warming in selected mountain sites having a Mediterranean climate, including the Pyrenees in Spain and Andorra, the Sierra Nevada in Spain and California (USA), the Atlas in Morocco, and the Andes in Chile. Meteorological observations fr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa70cb |
| _version_ | 1797748231111704576 |
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| author | J I López-Moreno S Gascoin J Herrero E A Sproles M Pons E Alonso-González L Hanich A Boudhar K N Musselman N P Molotch J Sickman J Pomeroy |
| author_facet | J I López-Moreno S Gascoin J Herrero E A Sproles M Pons E Alonso-González L Hanich A Boudhar K N Musselman N P Molotch J Sickman J Pomeroy |
| author_sort | J I López-Moreno |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study we quantified the sensitivity of snow to climate warming in selected mountain sites having a Mediterranean climate, including the Pyrenees in Spain and Andorra, the Sierra Nevada in Spain and California (USA), the Atlas in Morocco, and the Andes in Chile. Meteorological observations from high elevations were used to simulate the snow energy and mass balance (SEMB) and calculate its sensitivity to climate. Very different climate sensitivities were evident amongst the various sites. For example, reductions of 9%–19% and 6–28 days in the mean snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow duration, respectively, were found per °C increase. Simulated changes in precipitation (±20%) did not affect the sensitivities. The Andes and Atlas Mountains have a shallow and cold snowpack, and net radiation dominates the SEMB; and explains their relatively low sensitivity to climate warming. The Pyrenees and USA Sierra Nevada have a deeper and warmer snowpack, and sensible heat flux is more important in the SEMB; this explains the much greater sensitivities of these regions. Differences in sensitivity help explain why, in regions where climate models project relatively greater temperature increases and drier conditions by 2050 (such as the Spanish Sierra Nevada and the Moroccan Atlas Mountains), the decline in snow accumulation and duration is similar to other sites (such as the Pyrenees and the USA Sierra Nevada), where models project stable precipitation and more attenuated warming. The snowpack in the Andes (Chile) exhibited the lowest sensitivity to warming, and is expected to undergo only moderate change (a decrease of <12% in mean SWE, and a reduction of < 7 days in snow duration under RCP 4.5). Snow accumulation and duration in the other regions are projected to decrease substantially (a minimum of 40% in mean SWE and 15 days in snow duration) by 2050. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:02:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c1012780c1f545c691bf9866f77028dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:02:56Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-c1012780c1f545c691bf9866f77028dc2023-08-09T14:34:07ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262017-01-0112707400610.1088/1748-9326/aa70cbDifferent sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areasJ I López-Moreno0S Gascoin1J Herrero2E A Sproles3M Pons4E Alonso-González5L Hanich6A Boudhar7K N Musselman8N P Molotch9J Sickman10J Pomeroy11Pyrenean Institute of Ecology , CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain; Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.Centre d’Etudes Spatiales de la Biosphère , CNRS/CNES/IRD/UPS, Toulouse, FranceFluvial Dynamics and Hydrology Research Group, Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research, University of Córdoba , Granada, SpainCenter for Advanced Arid Zone Studies , CEAZA, ChileObservatory of Sustainability , AndorraPyrenean Institute of Ecology , CSIC, Zaragoza, SpainCadi Ayyad University , Marrakech, MoroccoSultan Moulay Slimane University , Béni-Mellal, MoroccoNational Center for Atmospheric Research—NCAR , Boulder, CO, United States of AmericaInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Dept. of Geography, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO, United States of America; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA, United States of AmericaEnvironmental Sciences, University of California , Riverside, CA, United States of AmericaCentre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan , Saskatoon, CanadaIn this study we quantified the sensitivity of snow to climate warming in selected mountain sites having a Mediterranean climate, including the Pyrenees in Spain and Andorra, the Sierra Nevada in Spain and California (USA), the Atlas in Morocco, and the Andes in Chile. Meteorological observations from high elevations were used to simulate the snow energy and mass balance (SEMB) and calculate its sensitivity to climate. Very different climate sensitivities were evident amongst the various sites. For example, reductions of 9%–19% and 6–28 days in the mean snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow duration, respectively, were found per °C increase. Simulated changes in precipitation (±20%) did not affect the sensitivities. The Andes and Atlas Mountains have a shallow and cold snowpack, and net radiation dominates the SEMB; and explains their relatively low sensitivity to climate warming. The Pyrenees and USA Sierra Nevada have a deeper and warmer snowpack, and sensible heat flux is more important in the SEMB; this explains the much greater sensitivities of these regions. Differences in sensitivity help explain why, in regions where climate models project relatively greater temperature increases and drier conditions by 2050 (such as the Spanish Sierra Nevada and the Moroccan Atlas Mountains), the decline in snow accumulation and duration is similar to other sites (such as the Pyrenees and the USA Sierra Nevada), where models project stable precipitation and more attenuated warming. The snowpack in the Andes (Chile) exhibited the lowest sensitivity to warming, and is expected to undergo only moderate change (a decrease of <12% in mean SWE, and a reduction of < 7 days in snow duration under RCP 4.5). Snow accumulation and duration in the other regions are projected to decrease substantially (a minimum of 40% in mean SWE and 15 days in snow duration) by 2050.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa70cbsnowMediterranean mountainsclimate warmingsnow simulations |
| spellingShingle | J I López-Moreno S Gascoin J Herrero E A Sproles M Pons E Alonso-González L Hanich A Boudhar K N Musselman N P Molotch J Sickman J Pomeroy Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas Environmental Research Letters snow Mediterranean mountains climate warming snow simulations |
| title | Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas |
| title_full | Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas |
| title_fullStr | Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas |
| title_short | Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas |
| title_sort | different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in mediterranean climate mountain areas |
| topic | snow Mediterranean mountains climate warming snow simulations |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa70cb |
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