<p> California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Snow Surveys Section has recently explored the potential use of recently developed hydrologic models to estimate snow water equivalent (SWE) for the Sierra Nevada mountain range. DWR Snow Surveys Section’s initial step is to determine how well these hydrologic models compare to the trusted regression equations, currently used by DWR Snow Surveys Section. A comparison scheme was ultimately developed between estimation measures for SWE by interpreting model results for the Feather River Basin from: a) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) gridded SWE reconstruction product, b) United States Geological Survey (USGS) Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), and c) DWR Snow Surveys Section regression equations. Daily SWE estimates were extracted from gridded results by computing an average SWE based on 1,000 ft elevation band increments from 3,000 to 10,000 ft (i.e. an elevation band would be from 3,000 to 4,000 ft). The dates used for processing average SWE estimates were cloud-free satellite image dates during snow ablation months, March to August, for years 2000–2012. The average SWE for each elevation band was linearly interpolated for each snow sensor elevation. The model SWE estimates were then compared to the snow sensor readings used to produce the snow index in DWR’s regression equations. In addition to comparing JPL’s SWE estimate to snow sensor readings, PRMS SWE variable for select hydrologic response units (HRU) were also compared to snow sensor readings. Research concluded with the application of statistical methods to determine the reliability in the JPL products and PRMS simulated SWE variable, with results varying depending on time duration being analyzed and elevation range.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1604056 |
| Date | 04 December 2015 |
| Creators | Fabbiani-Leon, Angelique Marie |
| Publisher | University of California, Davis |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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