Estimation of snow storage in Southeastern mountains of Western Siberia
The forecasts of rivers flow, which are mainly supplied with water from melting snow in spring, base on the amount of snow storage determined in drainage basins. It is important to estimate exactly the water supply in snow cover and the dynamics of snow break in spring. Space monitoring gives new information about territorial distribution of the snow cover. Works to apply satellite photographs of snow cover areas, of snow melting dynamics from catchments surface and special methods for estimating the amount of water stored in snow covers started in 1970s. In this article, an original estimation of water supply in snow cover is given for mountainous territory of the South-East of Western Siberia, using information from space. The data of the basins of the Biya and the Tom rivers were summarized on water supply in snow till 2007. A diagram map of contour lines of snow supply on March 20, 2004 is given. This diagram map is made using new technologies of obtaining hydrometeorological information.