The Seasonal Snow Cover Dynamics: Review on Wind-Driven Coupling Processes

Summary

This narrative review synthesises current understanding of wind-driven coupling processes between the atmospheric boundary layer and seasonal snow cover across mountainous, prairie, and polar environments. The authors examine how these interactions govern snow accumulation through orographic precipitation and preferential deposition at multiple scales, and control snow ablation via turbulent heat fluxes and sublimation. The review identifies significant uncertainties in model representations of wind-driven processes and advocates for improved process understanding at mountain-ridge and slope scales to enhance forecasting and climate projections in snow-covered regions.

UK applicability

Findings are potentially applicable to upland and mountainous regions of the UK (Scotland, Lake District, Pennines, Snowdonia) where seasonal snow cover occurs and wind-driven redistribution affects water resources and avalanche hazard. However, the review's emphasis on polar and high-mountain environments means direct application to UK's typically lower-altitude snow cover and more maritime climate conditions requires contextualisation.

Key measures

Spatial variability of snow accumulation; turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes; blowing snow sublimation rates; snow cover ablation rates; model representations of wind-driven processes at ridge, slope, and mountain-range scales

Outcomes reported

The review synthesises current understanding of wind-driven processes affecting seasonal snow cover dynamics across multiple environments and scales. The authors evaluate how atmospheric boundary layer interactions control mass and energy fluxes and examine representations of these processes in numerical models.

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