Snow accumulation and melt characteristics were studied in Logan Canyon, Utah. Three replications of aspen, conifer, and open field types at 6300, 7100,and 8000 feet were measured for snow depth and water content during 1972. Elevation was found to have the greatest effect on snow water content. The gradient of increasing water content with rise ln elevation was found to be .51 inches/100 feet in the zone from 6300 to 7100 feet and 1.9 inches/100 feet from 7100 to 8000 feet. The cooler temperatures at higher elevations partially account for the 8000 foot zone beginning to melt 40 days after the 7100 foot zone, and the 7100 foot zone trailing the 6300 foot zone by 20 days. Although the snow at the 8000 foot elevation began melting later than the lower zones, it melted at twice the rate. Vegetation cover type has no significant effect on the amount of snow deposited. However, the conifer type protects the snowpack from solar radiation causing the snowpack to have a significantly lower density than the snowpack assocaited with either aspen or open field. The snowpack under the conifer canopy melts 30 percent slower and remains 17 days longer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-3197 |
| Date | 01 May 1973 |
| Creators | Thies, Paul R. |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@USU |
| Source Sets | Utah State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu). |
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