THE ENERGY BALANCE OF A MELTING SNOWPACK IN THE FRENCH PYRENEES DURING WARM ANTICYCLONIC CONDITIONS

✍ Scribed by MCGREGOR, GLENN R.; GELLATLY, ANNE F.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 567 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0899-8418
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0088(199604)16:4<479::aid-joc17>3.0.co;2-w

✦ Synopsis

The bulk aerodynamic approach was used to measure the energy balance over an isothermal melting snowpack at 2600 m a.s.1. during warm anticyclonic conditions in the French Pyrenees. Net radiation contributed the majority of energy for melt (67 per cent), whereas sensible heat (33 per cent) played a secondary but, nevertheless, important role, because air temperatures were anomalously high during the measurement period. Latent heat as a heat source for melt or as a heat sink for evaporation was insignificant. Study results are discussed in the context of possible synoptic-scale forced energy balance controls on ablation climates in the Pyrenees.