<h2>Estimation of Snowfall and Snow Distributions in Alaska and
    the Pan-Arctic</h2>
  <p ><strong>Researcher:</strong> </strong>Jessica Cherry<br />
        <strong>Funding Source: </strong>JAMSTEC<br />
        <strong>Collaborators:</strong> Stephen D&eacute;ry (UNBC), Bruno Tremblay (McGill), Marc Stieglitz (Georgia
        Tech), Gavin Gong (Columbia University), John Walsh (IARC), Sarah Byam (IARC)</p>
      <p > The outcome of this project will be a long-term daily product of snowfall (station-based and
        distributed) for the pan-Arctic for use in change detection. </p>
      <p > We collected a large database of daily snow depth records from landmasses north of 44&deg;N.
        A reconstructed snowfall product was developed using a simple nudging technique in the NASA Global
        Modeling and Assimilation Office catchment-based Land Surface Model (LSM). This station-based
        reconstructed snowfall product is now being spatially distributed using multiple models for comparison.
        These include a statistical optimal interpolation, the Micromet model, and the Georgia Tech snow
        model. </p>
      <p > Anticipated results include a station-based and gridded pan-Arctic daily snowfall product
        from 1936 onward. This will support detection and attribution of changes in the hydrologic cycle
        in the Northern Hemisphere. This product may also be used determine long-term changes in soil
        temperatures, as the model ground thermodynamics scheme solves for a ground temperature profile.
        Both snow cover and the surface energy balance contribute to the evolution of ground temperatures.
        In regions with frozen ground, changes in soil temperatures may also lead to changes in subsurface
        water storage. </p>
      <p > Long-term variability of the atmosphere and the land-surface are inherently tied to the hydrologic
        cycle, particularly in cold regions. The estimation of snowfall and snow distributions in Alaska
        and the pan-Arctic help to integrate the study of both the atmosphere and land-surface. The project
        contributes to Themes 2, 3, and 4 of the IARC-JAMSTEC Collaboration Plan.</p>