Rainwater propagation through snowpack during rain-on-snow sprinkling experiments under different snow conditions

摘要: Abstract. The mechanisms of rainwater propagation and runoff generation during rain-on-snow (ROS) events are still insufficiently known. Understanding storage transport liquid water in natural snowpacks is crucial, especially for forecasting hazards such as floods wet snow avalanches. In this study, through was investigated by sprinkling experiments with deuterium-enriched applying an alternative hydrograph separation technique on samples collected from the snowpack runoff. This allowed us to quantify contribution rainwater, snowmelt initial released snowpack. Four field were carried out winter 2015 vicinity Davos, Switzerland. Blocks isolated surrounding inhibit lateral exchange exposed artificial rainfall using water. composed four 30 min periods sprinkling, separated three breaks. continuously gauged sampled periodically deuterium signature. At onset each experiment antecedent first pushed Hydrographs showed pronounced peaks corresponding bursts. consistently increased over course but never exceeded 86 %. An conducted a non-ripe suggested development preferential flow paths that efficiently propagate limiting time mass processes take effect. contrast, ripe isothermal slower response behaviour resulted total volume which consisted less than 50 % rain input.