The Energy Balance Method - A Literature Review

Most studies find the largest improvements by including variation of solar radiation. But it is also recommended to include estimates of longwave radiation as this can strongly impact the timing of the snowmelt and condensation as it under specific conditions can be a source of significant release of latent heat in the snowpack, thus leading to significant melt events. In addition, in respect to the spatial variability of snow cover depth, vegetation, and radiation it is recommended to implement distributed models for snowmelt inflow forecasting in particular.

How this can be done depends on the availability of data and today’s weather forecasting models produce all the necessary input to these snowmelt models for any region in Scandinavia at the necessary temporal and spatial resolution. The computational aspects of utilizing this data in the energy-balance model is also not an issue with today’s computers. The major issue in respect of computation is the system robustness and data handling. This is independent of the modelling system and the major cost of transition to a new system.