The areal distribution of snow cover and the variability of its
characteristics were investigated at various locations in the eastern Swiss
Alps. An areal energy-balance (AEB) model was used to calculate the
predominant energy fluxes at the snow–atmosphere interface based on
automatic meteorological measurements as input. By coupling the AEB model
with a one-dimensional, physically based mass and energy-balance model of
the snowpack, temperature distribution as well as energy and mass flow in
the snowpack were simulated at three different locations in the
topographically complex environment at Weissfluhjoch-Davos, 2540 m a.s.l. On
a horizontal test site, calculated energy fluxes and characteristics of the
snow cover are in good agreement with their measured counterparts. On
inclined slopes, the temperature distribution is well represented by the
coupled models, but the snow depth and density are not yet satisfactorily
simulated. This discrepancy may be attributed to inhomogeneous accumulation
and deposition of snow on the weather and lee sides.