Articles | Volume 20, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5973-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5973-2026
Research article
 | 
15 Oct 2026
Research article |  | 15 Oct 2026

Improving snow simulations through improved representations of vegetation conditions: insights from high resolution simulations over California

Aniket Gupta, Ali Behrangi, Mohammad Farmani, Patrick Broxton, and Guo-Yue Niu

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Cited articles

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Bartlett, P. A. and Verseghy, D. L.: Modified treatment of intercepted snow improves the simulated forest albedo in the Canadian Land Surface Scheme, Hydrol. Process., 29, 3208–3226, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10431, 2015. 
Bonan, G. B., Levis, S., Sitch, S., Vertenstein, M., and Oleson, K. W.: A dynamic global vegetation model for use with climate models: concepts and description of simulated vegetation dynamics, Glob. Change Biol., 9, 1543–1566, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00681.x, 2003. 
Brekke, L. D., Miller, N. L., Bashford, K. E., Quinn, N. W. T., and Dracup, J. A.: CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS UNCERTAINTY FOR WATER RESOURCES IN THE SAN JOAQUIN RIVER BASIN, CALIFORNIA, J. Am. Water Resour. As., 40, 149–164, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2004.tb01016.x, 2004. 
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Short summary
Most hydrological models tend to underestimate snow over the mountainous southwestern US. This may result from uncertainties in precipitation forcing and/or inadequate representation of snow–vegetation interactions, particularly canopy interception and shading. Through model experiments, we demonstrate how downscaled meteorological forcing and improved vegetation representation can improve snow simulations over the southwestern US.
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