Simulating the Dynamics of Characteristics of Snow Cover Formation Regime in Russian Federation Territory. 3. Field and Forest Areas in Siberia and Far East in the Historical Period

Abstract

SWAP land surface model, developed by the authors of this article, was used to carry out many-year calculations of snow cover characteristics for forest and field areas in the main regions of Asian Russia: West Siberia, East Siberia, and Far East for a historic period (1967−2019). The comparison of simulation results with the appropriate data of route snow surveys at meteorological stations in the Asian part of RF showed that SWAP adequately reproduces the dynamics of snow water equivalent, snow depth and density in open areas and under forest canopy at the chosen sites. For all sites located in snow survey areas, climatic values of the characteristics of snow cover formation regime were obtained for two types of the land surface (forest and field) and two climatic periods (1967−1992 and 1993−2019) and used to identify trends in changes in these characteristics in the historic period. It was shown that the direction of changes in the climatic values of snow cover characteristics in forest and field areas in West Siberia, East Siberia, and Far East is the same and corresponds to projections for the XXI century derived from climate models.