SPATIAL STATISTICS OF SNOWMELT FLOW - DATA FROM LYSIMETERS AND AERIALPHOTOS

The two-dimensional, horizontal spatial statistics of meltwater flow t hrough a Wyoming snowpack were investigated using two independent meth ods: meltwater flow from arrays of closely spaced lysimeters and a sur vey of snow surface brightness on aerial photos. Both methods suggeste d a characteristic distance of about 6 m over which the respective phe nomena were correlated. If a characteristic distance for meltwater flo w could be related to snow characteristics such as slope and aspect, m odeling of meltwater related phenomena would be facilitated. If the ae rial photo data could be shown to be related to the flow data, as thes e results suggest, a convenient technique for determining meltwater sp atial statistics from aerial photos would be available.