Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C510140/1
Evaluation and development of forest snow process models.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor RLH Essery, Aberystwyth University, Inst of Geography and Earth Sciences
- Grant held at:
- Aberystwyth University, Inst of Geography and Earth Sciences
- Science Area:
- Freshwater
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Atmospheric
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Land - Atmosphere Interactions
- Boundary Layer Meteorology
- Hydrological Processes
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- Large areas in the Northern Hemisphere have both forests and seasonal snowcover. The influences of forest canopies on the amount of snow reaching the ground and the radiative and turbulent heat fluxes impinging on the snow can lead to forest stands having very different snow depths and melt rates from clearings. Accumulation and melt of snow in forests is governed by complex interactions between the forest canopy, the atmosphere and snow held in the canopy or on the ground beneath. Models of these processes have been developed for a wide range of applications in forecasting weather and water resources and in predicting impacts of climate change and land-use change (both deforestation and forestation), but these models have not been extensively evaluated in comparison with observations. In this project, existing meteorological datasets from a range of forested environments in Canada, Switzerland and Japan will be collated and formatted for driving forest snow models. The data and site descriptions will be disseminated to research groups working on the development of forest snow models; they will run their models and return results from simulations of snow depths and heat fluxes. Simulations will be carried out for two years in a forest stand and a clearing at each site. The results will be compared with observations (which will not be available to the participants while performing the simulations) to evaluate the performance of the models and to quantify the uncertainty associated with predictions made using them. Conclusions drawn from the evaluation will be used to suggest improvements in existing models and identify areas where further observational and modelling work is required. The simulations will be repeated with a single model to investigate the sensitivity of results to changes in model parameters and process representations. The intercomparison project will be designed and coordinated, and the results will be analysed, at the University of Wales Aberystwyth. This proposal requests funds to employ a PDRA to assist the P1 in these activities, and to enable the PDRA to make presentations at two international conferences and to participate in a field study of forest snow processes. Travel and subsistence expenses are also requested to enable the participation of Professor John Pomeroy, an expert in both the observation and modelling of forest snow processes, as a Recognized Researcher.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C510140/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £88,934
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £5,022 | £55,751 | £2,517 | £25,646 |
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