Validation of the Snow Submodel of the Biosphere–Atmosphere Transfer Scheme with Russian Snow Cover and Meteorological Observational Data

Abstract

Snow cover is one of the most important variables affecting agriculture, hydrology, and climate, but detailed measurements are not widely available. Therefore, the effectiveness and validity of snow schemes in general circulation models have been difficult to assess. Using long-term snow cover data from the former Soviet Union, this paper focuses on the validation of the snow submodel in the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) using 6 years of data at six stations. Fundamental uncertainties in the datasets limit the accuracy of our assessment of the model's performance.