Energy balance computations of snowmelt in a subarctic area

A physically based model was used to predict daily snowmelt on 2000‐m 2 plots in the subartic. The plots had a range of aspects and inclinations under boreal forest and on the tundra. The energy balance, computed for each of the plots, was compensated for differences in radiative and turbulent energy fluxes caused by varied slope geometry and vegetative cover. The turbulent energy fluxes were also corrected for the effects of the stable stratification of the air over the snow surface. The predictions of the model were compared with daily melts derived from runoff measured on the snowmelt plots. The results show that the method is a good predictor of daily amounts of snowmelt, although some uncertainties are introduced by changes in the snow surface during the melt period. In a companion paper we show how hourly snowmelt rates, calculated from the energy balance, can be used to predict runoff hydrographs from hillside plots.