Definition
HS: Snow Depth
RCM: Regional Climate Model
Snow day: A day with a snow depth larger than a given threshold
Winter snow cover duration: Continuous snow depth of at least 1 cm
Introduction
Snow influences life and society in many ways. The amount and duration of snow in the Alps has a high socioeconomic significance in terms of both tourism and hydropower. Many Alpine towns and villages heavily depend on snow, because their economy is dominated up to 90% by winter tourism (Abegg et al., 2007). The vast majority of customers of such ski areas live in the pre-Alpine regions of Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, and France. A longer sequence of almost snowless winters in these heavily populated regions, as was observed between the late 1980s and mid-1990s, caused a discussion about the uniqueness of such a situation and the possible connection to climate change.
Observed changes
The importance of snow for hydrology and tourism in the Alps has led to quite a few studies, which...
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Marty, C. (2011). Snow Cover Changes in the Alps. In: Singh, V.P., Singh, P., Haritashya, U.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2_612
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2_612
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