SnowDepth™ - software for estimation of snow depth on natural surfaces

The SnowDepth™ software, which is based on the SNOW-17 theory, is a snow accumulation and ablation model used to estimate the depth of snow on natural surfaces. It is a conceptual model in which each of the significant physical processes affecting snow accumulation and snowmelt are mathematically represented. The model uses air temperature as the sole index to energy exchange across the snow-air interface and was developed to run in conjunction with a rainfall-runoff model. A novel approach implemented in this software is the use of constrained non-linear least-squares optimization to calibrate model parameters for a particular location. This greatly enhances its accuracy in comparison to the standard SNOW-17.