CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Brown, R.; and Tapsoba,D.
Date : 2007.
Title : Improved mapping and understanding of the spatial and temporal variability in snow water equivalent over Quebec.
Publication : CMOS, CGU, AMS Congress 2007. "Air, Ocean, Earth and Ice on the Rock". May 28 - June 1, 2007. St. John's Congress Centre, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Issue :
Page(s) : S01-1B3 .2.
Abstract
Snow accumulation over Quebec and adjacent Labrador is significant at a continental scale representing the 2nd largest maxima after the western cordillera with annual maximum snow accumulation averaging 200-300 mm of water equivalent. This resource is of vital importance to the economy, ecology and society of Quebec. However, relatively little has been published about snow cover variability and change in this region of North America due to important limitations in the available snow observing systems. This talk will describe results from a project to develop detailed (10 km resolution) gridded maps of SWE over southern Québec from historical surface observations of snow depth and SWE. The project has assembled an historical snow course database for Quebec and surrounding regions which contains 158,377 observations covering the period 1936-2006. These data are being interpolated to a 10 km grid using the method of kriging with external drift following Tapsoba et al. (2005) which takes account of variables affecting the spatial distribution of snow cover such as topography and vegetation cover. The method also provides an estimate of the error in the interpolated values. The distribution of the available observations is quite variable in space and time but there are sufficient observations to generate SWE maps for most of Quebec south of ~55ºN for a period of approximately 30 years (~1967-1996) for 15-day windows centred on February 01, March 01 and April 01. The talk will also present the results of an initial analysis of the spatial and temporal variability in SWE over Quebec over the period since ~1950 which shows evidence of an abrupt decrease in winter snow accumulation over southern Quebec in the late 1970s due to a shift in winter circulation linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation pattern.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology