Date

Seeking Participants
Phase Two of the Snow Model Intercomparison Project (SnowMIP2)
Centre for Glaciology, University of Wales

For further information, please go to:
http://users.aber.ac.uk/rie/snowmip2.html

or contact:
Nick Rutter
E-mail: SnowMIP2 [at] aber.ac.uk


The Centre for Glaciology at the University of Wales is seeking
modelling participants for phase two of the Snow Model Intercomparison
Project (SnowMIP2). Following on from SnowMIP
(http://www.cnrm.meteo.fr/snowmip/), SnowMIP2 will be an intercomparison
of off-line snow simulations for forested environments. Meteorological
data will be provided for two complete winters at several sites, and
models will be required to simulate snow mass and energy fluxes for a
coniferous forest plot and a nearby open plot at each site. Simulations
will be requested for three sites (Alptal, Switzerland; BERMS, Canada;
Hitsujigaoka, Japan) initially, and for another two sites (Fraser, USA;
Hyytiala, Finland) shortly. Snow water equivalent data will be provided
for one year at each of the forest sites to allow some model
calibration.

The first two publications planned for this project will describe the
data sets and compare the simulations of snow accumulation and ablation
at forested and open sites, then consider the partitioning of snow and
energy by forest canopies. All the model participants and data providers
will be co-authors on these papers, and an archive of results will be
created for further studies.

If you are interested in participating in SnowMIP2, please register by
the end of May 2006, with a provisional deadline for the return of
simulation results by the end of November 2006.

You can register your interest or obtain more information by contacting:
Nick Rutter
E-mail: SnowMIP2 [at] aber.ac.uk

Further information is also available online at:
http://users.aber.ac.uk/rie/snowmip2.html