Sensitivity of Snow and Hydrological Dynamics to Climate in a Catchment Characterized By Wind-Driven Redistribution of Snow

Under anthropogenic climate change, warming temperatures and altered precipitation regimes are expected
to alter snow hydrology in the western United States. In catchments with wind-driven snow redistribution, the
transition from snow to rain may be either moderated or exacerbated in parts of the watershed that currently receive
snow subsidies. The hydrological sensitivity may depend on the seasonal variability of changing precipitation and
temperature, and magnitude or the effect may vary inter-annually. To test these dynamics, we applied the
Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model to a 30-year hourly meteorological record from the Upper Sheep
Creek catchment in the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed. The model was applied to three hydrologic
response units: a drift-subsidized site with quaking aspen stands, and two landscape units with mountain big and low
sage, respectively, with low sage particularly susceptible to scour.