The role of turbulent heat fluxes in the energy balance of high alpine snow cover

Abstract

Energy balance measurements over a seasonal snow cover were performed near Davos, Switzerland at 2540 m a.s.l. During snowmelt, net radiation is the dominant energy source. Latent and sensible heat fluxes do not show a significant seasonal change and remain slight over most of the measuring period. This minor contribution of the turbulent heat fluxes can be attributed to generally low wind speeds in this inner alpine region and to frequent inversions over the melting snow cover. In a changing climate the turbulent heat fluxes could become increasingly important in the energy balance. -from Authors