Publication detail

Measurement of snow properties using EIS-monitoring method in Sierra Nevada (Spain)

PIMENTEL, R. PAŘÍLKOVÁ, J. VESELÝ, J. HERRERO, J. MILLARES, A. POLO, M.

Original Title

Measurement of snow properties using EIS-monitoring method in Sierra Nevada (Spain)

Type

conference paper

Language

English

Original Abstract

The water present in the snowpack is a basic component in the hydrological cycle in mountainous areas. This snowpack is a very heterogeneous system; a great number of physical processes determine its formation, metamorphosis and final ablation. Melting is the most important process as it typically constitutes a significant part of the total runoff reaching the aquifers and rivers during the springtime. In Mediterranean regions, where the water shortage is a serious and recurrent problem, it is essential to know snowpack properties: on one hand, to find out the formation and evolution of the snow, and on the other, to determine the amount of water contained by the snowpack, known as snow water equivalent. The main snow properties that allow one to carry out this analysis are the depth, temperature and density of the snow measured in different profiles of the snowpack. The areas covered by snow are generally inaccessible during the snow season. Therefore, it is necessary to use new methodologies, which allow the automatic measurement of these snow properties. This study is an evaluation of the Z-meter III, a method that uses an electrical impedance spectrometry to monitor snowpack properties. The results show that this device is capable of detecting changes in the different layers of the snowpack that are likely to be related to some important snow properties such as density, liquid water content or grain size.

Keywords

electrical impedance spectrometry (EIS), Z-meter device, snow

Authors

PIMENTEL, R.; PAŘÍLKOVÁ, J.; VESELÝ, J.; HERRERO, J.; MILLARES, A.; POLO, M.

RIV year

2012

Released

20. 9. 2012

Publisher

VUTIUM

Location

Brno

ISBN

978-80-214-4537-6

Book

EUREKA 2012

Edition

neuv

Edition number

1

Pages from

66

Pages to

73

Pages count

8

BibTex

@inproceedings{BUT96131,
  author="R. {Pimentel} and Jana {Pařílková} and Jaroslav {Veselý} and Javier {Herrero} and A. {Millares} and M.J. {Polo}",
  title="Measurement of snow properties using EIS-monitoring method in Sierra Nevada (Spain)",
  booktitle="EUREKA 2012",
  year="2012",
  series="neuv",
  number="1",
  pages="66--73",
  publisher="VUTIUM",
  address="Brno",
  isbn="978-80-214-4537-6"
}