Seminar by Clare Webster, SLF.
How do we incorporate complex forest snow processes into our land surface models?
Abstract: There are increasing demands and opportunities for accurate representation of forests in coarser resolution models for improving accuracy of snowmelt forecasts, understanding how forest change affects snow water resources, and better representing land surface albedo in boreal forests. Improving these models to meet current scientific and operational demand first requires an understanding of the relevant processes at hyper-resolution metre and minute scales. The first step in improving these models is therefore to obtain accurate spatially distributed forest snow process data at scales relevant to forest snow processes as well as land surface models. To this end, we’ve developed new observational platforms that collect data on the spatial and temporal variability of individual forest snow energy balance components. These systems include a motorized cable car and UAVs to measure short- and longwave radiation, air and snow surface temperatures both above and within the canopy. Data from these systems have been used to demonstrate shortcomings in existing model parameterisations, particularly radiative energy transfer in forests, and subsequently improve hyper-resolution model estimates of snow cover dynamics and land surface albedo. Hyper-resolution model simulations have provided an optimal basis for validating and improving the representation of forest snow processes in eco-hydrological and land surface models intended for coarser-scale applications. The recent incorporation of these improved process-based representations into the Swiss nationwide snow melt forecast model provides a road map for other applications requiring integration of forest structure into coarser resolution snow and land surface models.
It is possible to attend physically or to participate digitally at the seminar
Videolink to the lecture will be sent to the mailinglists alle@geo and geohyd-info@geo. If you want to subscribe to the geohyd-info@geo list send an email to Anita.
This lecture use Zoom | Download the Zoom Client for Meetings
About the seminar
This seminar is offered by the Section for Geography and Hydrology, Dept. of Geosciences, University of Oslo. The GEOHYD-seminars are announced as lunch seminars so bring your lunch if you want to.
The seminars are open for everyone interested, and especially students are welcome.
The Lunch Seminar Team
– Louise and Sigrid