Towards Better Simulation of Snow Physical Properties Across Canada
Speaker(s)
Description
This presentation details the version 2 of the SVS (Soil Vegetation and Snow) land surface model developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and provides examples of its applications.
Summary
The development of satellite missions aimed at estimating snow water equivalent requires advanced modelling systems capable of accurately estimating the physical properties of the snowpack over large areas with contrasting climates and vegetation. In this context, Environment and Climate Change Canada has recently developed version 2 of the SVS (Soil Vegetation and Snow) land surface model. This model incorporates the Crocus snow scheme, which provides a multi-layer representation of the snowpack and explicitly simulates the evolution of its microstructure. Initially developed for alpine snow, this scheme now features a new canopy module, a revised albedo scheme, and options for simulating Arctic snow, enhancing the performance of SVS2/Crocus in the Canadian environment.
This presentation will detail the new model and provide examples of its applications.
Speaker
Vincent Vionnet is a research scientist in the Meteorological Research Division at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). His current research focuses primarily on improving the representation of cold region hydrological processes, such as snow and soil freezing, in land surface models. Vincent Vionnet earned his PhD from the Université Paris-Est in France in 2012, where he worked on observing and modelling snow transport by wind in mountainous areas. He later worked at the Centre d’Études de la Neige at Météo France as a researcher studying snow-atmosphere interactions in mountain environments. Since 2017, he has pursued his scientific career in Canada—first as a visiting professor at the University of Saskatchewan, where he worked on hydrological and snowpack modelling in the Canadian Rockies, and then as a research scientist at ECCC, where he has been in his current role since 2019.
