Hydrologic flow path development varies by aspect during spring snowmelt in complex subalpine terrain

Webb, Ryan W.; Fassnacht, Steven R.; Gooseff, Michael N.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-287-2018

Articles | Volume 12, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-287-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-287-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 12, issue 1

Research article

|

23 Jan 2018

Research article |

| 23 Jan 2018

Hydrologic flow path development varies by aspect during spring snowmelt in complex subalpine terrain

Ryan W. Webb, Steven R. Fassnacht, and Michael N. Gooseff

Data sets

Snow density, snow depth, and soil moisture at Dry Lake study site in northern Colorado, 2013 R. W. Webb and S. R. Fassnacht https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.864253

Snow density, snow depth, and soil moisture at Dry Lake study site in northern Colorado, 2014 R. W. Webb and S. R. Fassnacht https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.864254

Snow density, snow depth, and soil moisture at Dry Lake study site in northern Colorado, 2015 R. W. Webb and S. R. Fassnacht https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.864255

Short summary

We observed how snowmelt is transported on a hillslope through multiple measurements of snow and soil moisture across a small headwater catchment. We found that snowmelt flows through the snow with less infiltration on north-facing slopes and infiltrates the ground on south-facing slopes. This causes an increase in snow water equivalent at the base of the north-facing slope by as much as 170 %. We present a conceptualization of flow path development to improve future investigations.