Snow in the Ubiñas Massif (Cantabrian Mountains) and its geomorphological implications

Abstract

The interrelationships between snow, snowfields and certain geomorphological processes have been examined in the Ubiñas Massif. Through fieldwork, together with the use of dataloggers and the analysis of meteorological data, we examined the morphologies resulting from these interactions, as well as the changes that affected the snowfields between 2012 and 2018. Moreover, we monitored specifically the changes in snow cover between 2015 and 2018 at 2380 meters a.s.l. Nivokarstic and solifluction morphologies are abundant, or those related to snow patches and snow avalanches. Soil isotherm is maintained for 6 to 8 months from 1800 meters a.s.l., with a clear relationship between its duration and the altitude (and, secondary, north orientation). The year 2018 accumulated the highest number of days in which the snow cover was maintained (143 days), also being the only one in which snow depth reached 120 cm. Together with summer temperatures, snow depth seems to be the main determining factor for the development and conservation of the snow patches, with 2017 being the year with the fewest number and total area (0.2 hectares), while 2013 was the one in which they remained the highest (2.8 hectares).