Zendrini et al. (2026) Air temperature partitioning of snow accumulation, erosion and melt: a regime shift occurring on Mt. Ortles (Eastern Italian Alps)

Identification

• Journal: ˜The œcryosphere
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-18
• Authors: Tiziana Lazzarina Zendrini, Luca Carturan, Michael Lehning, Mathias Bavay, Federico Cazorzi, Paolo Gabrielli, Nander Wever, Giancarlo Dalla Fontana
• DOI: 10.5194/tc-20-5199-2026

Research Groups

• Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, Legnaro, Italy
• WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
• CRYOS, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Department of Agrifood, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
• Italian Glaciological Committee c/o University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Short Summary

This study investigates the snow accumulation and erosion processes on Mt. Ortles (Eastern Alps) using a rare dataset of nivo-meteorological observations and the physics-based snow cover model SNOWPACK. The results show that wind erosion is the dominant ablation process at the study site, removing 21% of the snowfall.

Objective

• Investigate the snow accumulation and erosion processes on Mt. Ortles (Eastern Alps) using a rare dataset of nivo-meteorological observations.
• Evaluate the performance of the physics-based snow cover model SNOWPACK in reproducing the local mass balance and simulating snow erosion by wind.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: High-altitude alpine terrain, Mt. Ortles (Eastern Alps)
• Temporal Scale: 4-year study period (2011-2015)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: SNOWPACK (physics-based snow cover model)
• Data sources: Nivo-meteorological observations from an automatic weather station at 3830 m a.s.l. on Mt. Ortles, precipitation data from the nearby village of Solda

Main Results

• Wind erosion is the dominant ablation process at the study site, removing 21% of the snowfall.
• The model reproduces the observed seasonal and annual mass balance variability with good accuracy over the 4-year study period.
• Snow erosion was most effective in winter, during or shortly after snowfall events, and its efficiency was controlled by air temperature.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the snow accumulation and erosion processes on high-altitude alpine terrain.
• The results highlight the importance of accounting for wind erosion in projections of glacier mass balance on high-elevation wind-exposed areas.
• The study also emphasizes the relevance of snow erosion for the interpretation of ice core records.

Funding

• This research was funded by the Italian Glaciological Committee (CIG) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Citation

@article{Zendrini2026Air,
  author = {Zendrini, Tiziana Lazzarina and Carturan, Luca and Lehning, Michael and Bavay, Mathias and Cazorzi, Federico and Gabrielli, Paolo and Wever, Nander and Fontana, Giancarlo Dalla},
  title = {Air temperature partitioning of snow accumulation, erosion and melt: a regime shift occurring on Mt. Ortles (Eastern Italian Alps)},
  journal = {˜The œcryosphere},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.5194/tc-20-5199-2026},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5199-2026}
}