Waiting for the snow to melt…
This is a map of the influence of snow on the energy available for plant growth (growing degree days, GDD) in spring and early summer for the Upper Gunnison domain, derived from daily maximum temperature maps interpolated from weather station and microclimate sensor data combined with Landsat-derived estimates of the timing of seasonal snowpack departure and onset. Snow-free growing degree-days (SFGDD) were accumulated from day-of-year 60 to day-of-year 196 (March 1st to July 15th in a non-leap year). To compute growing degree days, daily estimates of temperatures above a base of 5 degrees Celcius (a minimum growth threshold for many plants) were summed across all days estimated to be free of snow cover. Because snowpack insulates the ground surface and soil from the atmosphere, this estimate can be a more appropriate measure of growing potential for snow-dominated climates than growing degree days (GDD). This map represents the proportional reduction in growing potential from 2002 to 2021 using the formula (GDD - SFGDD) / GDD.
Knowledge graph centered on Upper Gunnison Spring Snowpack Proportional Reduct with 7 nodes and 16 connections. Top connected: Winter snowpack, Growing season, Satellite-based snow disappearance tracking, Upper East River Beaver Pond, Random Forest climate downscaling.
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