Impacts of subgrid temperature distribution along elevation bands in snowpack modeling: Insights from a suite of Andean catchments

Here, we characterize the implications of subgrid temperature distribution along elevation bands through numerical experiments in nine mountainous basins of the Andes Cordillera, central Chile. Specifically, we analyze outputs from the Variable Infiltration Capacity model with six different setups: no elevation bands (i.e., flat grid cells; benchmark model) and elevation bands with vertical discretizations of 1,000, 750, 500, 200, and 100 m.

The analyses are conducted in a wet period (April/1982-March/1987), dry period (April/2010-March/2015) and a climatological period (April/1982-March/2015). The results show that adding elevation bands yields little variations in simulated monthly or daily streamflow; however, there are important effects on the partitioning of precipitation between snowfall and rainfall, snowmelt, sublimation, and the spatial variability in 1 September snow water equivalent (SWE), suggesting a form of model-structure equifinality.