Snow Compaction

Improving the CLASSIC (v1.8) snow model to better simulate Arctic snowpacks

This study enhances a snow model for Arctic environments by improving the heat exchanges within the snowpack and at its interfaces, revising the compaction scheme, and adding consideration of blowing snow sublimation losses. Simulations at ten Arctic, mid-latitude, and Alpine sites show significant reductions in simulated soil and snow temperature biases and improved simulated snow depth and density, which are key features to improve simulated energy, water, and carbon budgets in the Arctic.