Ines Sanchez-Rodriguez, Andrew Ireson (2022). Snowmelt water partitioning in Seasonally Frozen Soils: Insights from field observations. Proceedings of the GWF Annual Open Science Meeting, May 16-18, 2022.

A better understanding of the snowmelt water partitioning between runoff and infiltration might improve the water management practices in cold regions during spring melt. In the Canadian prairies, snowmelt is the dominant water input to the soil, streams and groundwater. Historically, the worst floods in this region have been driven by snowmelt runoff. Water for crops, taking up 80% of the agricultural land in Canada, heavily relies on snowmelt infiltration. The objective of this study was to use field observations from St. Denis, Saskatchewan, to describe: a) how snowmelt and spring rainfall over seasonally frozen soils are partitioned between infiltration and runoff; b) what happened to infiltration water within the frozen soils, and c) how groundwater recharge is generated during the spring thaw period.

First Author: Ines Sanchez-Rodriguez (1University of Saskatchewan, Global Institute for Water Security, Saskatoon, Canada)
Additional Authors: Andrew Ireson (1University of Saskatchewan, Global Institute for Water Security, Saskatoon, Canada)