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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010170168 | QC926.32 S66 2008 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
The extent and variability of seasonal snow cover are important parameters in the climate system, due to their effects on energy and moisture budgets, and because surface temperature is highly dependent on snow cover. In turn, snow cover trends serve as key indicators of climate change. Many distinct techniques have become available to study snow-climate relationships. Satellites provided the first capability for monitoring snow cover extent at continental and hemispheric scales, and there have been rapid advances in snow modeling physics to represent snow cover and snow processes in Global Climate Models (GCMs). These advances have changed the way we look at snow cover. The main goal of this book is to provide a synthesis of the prevailing state of snow-climate science that reflects this distinct perspective. This volume provides an excellent synthesis for researchers and advanced students.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
This work provides a scientific review of research on the interactions between snow on the ground and the atmosphere. It comprises five chapters by a total of 16 experts, predominantly from North America and Europe. Following a short introduction by the editors, the remaining four chapters cover physical processes within the snow cover; energy and mass balance exchanges between snow and atmosphere; the parameterization of the snow cover and its modeling; and sources of observational data and products. This volume will be sought by snow scientists everywhere for the comprehensive treatment of these important subjects. Each well-illustrated chapter is supported by comprehensive lists of references. The entire volume is clearly printed, with a brief index and an expanded list of contents. This reviewer's quibbles are minor: some figures (e.g., in chapter 5) would have been better if printed in color (as others are elsewhere in the book) rather than monochrome, and a few references contain minor typographic errors. Neither of these complaints detracts from the value of the compilation, the first to summarize this topic in some decades. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals. N. Caine University of Colorado at Boulder
Table of Contents
| List of contributors | p. ix |
| Preface | p. xi |
| Acknowledgments | p. xiii |
| Nomenclature | p. xiv |
| 1 Introduction | p. 1 |
| 1.1 Basic properties of snow | p. 1 |
| 1.2 Importance of snow in the climate system | p. 4 |
| 1.3 Importance of snow in natural and human systems | p. 6 |
| 1.4 Climate change implications | p. 7 |
| 1.5 Layout of book | p. 9 |
| 2 Physical processes within the snow cover and their parameterization | p. 12 |
| 2.1 Introduction | p. 12 |
| 2.2 General characteristics | p. 19 |
| 2.3 Thermal behavior of snow | p. 35 |
| 2.4 Fluid flow behavior in snow | p. 40 |
| 2.5 Radiative properties of snow | p. 53 |
| 3 Snow-atmosphere energy and mass balance | p. 70 |
| 3.1 Introduction | p. 70 |
| 3.2 Equations of energy and mass balance | p. 70 |
| 3.3 The fluxes involved in the energy balance | p. 73 |
| 3.4 Snow accumulation | p. 83 |
| 3.5 Examples of energy and mass balances | p. 92 |
| 4 Snow-cover parameterization and modeling | p. 125 |
| 4.1 History of numerical modeling of snow cover | p. 125 |
| 4.2 Description of recent snow models | p. 129 |
| 4.3 Sensitivity of energy and mass fluxes at the snow-atmosphere interface to internal and interface parameters | p. 136 |
| 4.4 Snow parameterization in GCMs | p. 145 |
| 4.5 The global snow coverage in climate change scenarios | p. 156 |
| 5 Snow-cover data: measurement, products, and sources | p. 181 |
| 5.1 Introduction | p. 181 |
| 5.2 In situ snow data | p. 182 |
| 5.3 Remote sensing data | p. 192 |
| 5.4 Operational snow-cover products | p. 203 |
| 5.5 Global-continental snow-cover climatology: measured and modeled | p. 205 |
| Appendix Snow model questionnaire | p. 217 |
| Index | p. 220 |
