Authors
Ernesto Trujillo-Gomez
Publication date
2009
Institution
Colorado State University
Description
The spatial organization of snow cover properties and its dependence on scale are determined by precipitation patterns and the interaction of the snow pack with topography, winds, vegetation and radiative fluxes, among others factors. The objectives of this research are to characterize the spatial scaling properties and spatial organization of snow depth fields in several environments at scales between 1 m and 1000 m, and to determine how these properties are related to topography, vegetation, and winds. These objectives are accomplished through (a) the analysis of LIDAR elevation contours, and snow depth contours,(b) the analysis of synthetically generated profiles and fields of snow depth, and (c) simulations performed using a new cellular automata model for redistribution of snow by wind. The analyses of the power spectral densities of snow depth show the existence of two distinct scaling regimes …