Snow in Lebanon: a preliminary study of snow cover over Mount Lebanon and a simple snowmelt model / Etude préliminaire du couvert neigeux et modèle de fonte des neige pour le Mont Liban

• Published in: Hydrological sciences journal 2005-06, Vol.50 (3), p.569
• Main Authors: Aouad-Rizk, Angè, Job, Jean-Olivier, Khalil, Salim, Touma, Tarek, Bitar, Chadi, Boqcuillon, Claude, Najem, Wajdi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: bilan d'énergie; energy balance; modèle de fonte; Mont Liban; Mount Lebanon; Nahr El Kelb; neige; snow; snow water equivalent; snowmelt model; équivalent en eau
• ISSN: 0262-6667; 2150-3435
• DOI: 10.1623/hysj.50.3.555.65023

The physical properties of snow, including apparent density, snow cover distribution and snowmelt in the Nahr El Kelb basin (Mount Lebanon), were studied in order to design a simple empirical snowmelt model. In February 2001, snow covered an area of 1600 km 2 on Mount Lebanon, representing a water equivalent of 1.1 x 10 9 m 3 . The snow surface area was calculated by combining TM5 images with a digital elevation model, and field observations made every three days, from 1400 to 2300 m altitude. The depletion of snow cover was measured from the end of December 2000 to the end of June 2001. The snowmelt was measured from surface depletion on a degree-day basis. A simple model relating the daily snowmelt to the product of wind speed and average positive daily air temperature, is presented and discussed. For Mount Lebanon, this model gave a better approximation of snowmelt than a simple degree-day model.