The snowmelt and heat balance in snow-covered forested areas

The snowmelt and heat balance in snow-covered forested areas have been studied with the use of a canopy model. It was found that, in general, as the canopy density increased the snowmelt decreased. However, with conditions of high air temperature, weak winds, and large snow albedo, a greater degree of snowmelt occurred under a dense canopy due to infrared radiation from the canopy elements than under a sparse canopy. Although the snow temperature was never higher than 0°C while the air temperature was greater than 0°C, an upward sensible heat flux was supplied from the forest canopy, resulting in the atmospheric heating. -Authors