Taherian et al. (2026) Time Variance in Snowmelt Partitioning: A Mechanistic Modeling Approach to Explore the Role of Catchment Structure and Pre‐Snow Rainfall

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Water Resources Research
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-01
• Authors: Mahbod Taherian, Ali Ameli
• DOI: 10.1029/2025wr040679

Research Groups

• Not specified in the abstract.

Short Summary

This study investigates how snowmelt partitioning patterns vary over time in response to interannual antecedent rainfall, revealing that lateral heterogeneity in subsurface hydraulic conductivity critically mediates this sensitivity. It demonstrates that heterogeneous catchments store more snowmelt and reduce shallow flow contributions in wet pre-snow seasons, unlike homogeneous ones.

Objective

• To examine the time-variance of snowmelt partitioning patterns (SPP) in response to interannual variations in antecedent (Fall) rainfall before snowmelt seasons across contrasting snow-dominated catchments.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Two snow-dominated catchments (Canada and Sweden) with contrasting geologic and topographic features; a suite of virtual experiments systematically varying catchment slope and the extent of vertical and lateral hydraulic conductivity heterogeneity.
• Temporal Scale: Interannual variations in antecedent rainfall before snowmelt seasons, examining how partitioning varies "over time."

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Integrated subsurface–surface flow and transport modeling.
• Data sources: Observational data.

Main Results

• Lateral heterogeneity in hydraulic conductivity mediates the sensitivity of snowmelt partitioning to interannual variations in antecedent rainfall.
• Laterally homogeneous catchments show minimal sensitivity of snowmelt partitioning patterns to wet or dry Fall rainfall conditions.
• Catchments with heterogeneous lateral structure store a significantly larger portion of snowmelt and reduce snow-sourced shallow flow contributions in years with high pre-snow rainfall compared to years with low pre-snow rainfall.
• While slope and vertical conductivity architecture govern snowmelt partitioning patterns, they play a limited role in mediating the temporal sensitivity of these patterns to antecedent rainfall variability.
• Subsurface structure, particularly the extent of lateral subsurface heterogeneity, modulates the influence of climate variability on snowmelt partitioning and catchment hydrologic function.

Contributions

• Reveals that subsurface structure, specifically lateral heterogeneity, is a critical modulator of how climate variability influences snowmelt partitioning and overall catchment hydrologic function.
• Highlights the importance of representing time-variable hydrologic behavior in hydrologic models for improved predictions of streamflow responses, groundwater recharge, and solute transport under changing climate regimes.

Funding

• Not specified in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Taherian2026Time,
  author = {Taherian, Mahbod and Ameli, Ali},
  title = {Time Variance in Snowmelt Partitioning: A Mechanistic Modeling Approach to Explore the Role of Catchment Structure and Pre‐Snow Rainfall},
  journal = {Water Resources Research},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2025wr040679},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr040679}
}