Group leader : Marie Dumont
Operations Assistant : Delphine Charlieu
The Snow Research Center’s mission is to conduct upstream and finalised research in all areas related to snow science and mountain meteorology. This involves improving knowledge of snow as a material and the physical processes that occur within it at all scales, analysing and forecasting weather in mountain areas, remote sensing of snow cover and developing specific instrumentation for this environment. This work results in the development and transfer of tools to aid in avalanche risk forecasting and snow cover monitoring (in particular the chain SAFRAN – SURFEX/ISBA – Crocus-MEPRA, S2M), and specific methods for reanalysis and climate projection of surface weather conditions and snow cover in mountain areas.
Pursuant to the decree According to Météo-France, « monitoring snow cover, forecasting changes and disseminating the relevant information » is one of the organisation’s missions. To this end, the CNRM studies snow and snow cover in various applications : avalanche risk forecasting, the role of snow and the cryosphere in the climate system, the effects of snow on water resources in watersheds and mountain river flow. To do this, it relies on a dedicated unit : the Snow Research Center (Centre d’Etudes de la Neige CEN). The CEN has multiple resources at its disposal: dedicated digital models, field measurements (fixed measurement sites or dedicated campaigns), and cold chamber experiments. It is structured into five teams, including three research teams working on topics related to snow cover, covering a wide range of scales from the micrometric scale (for the study of the physical properties of snow at the snow grain scale) to the planetary scale (for the study of interactions between snow cover and climate variability). The other two teams are dedicated to supporting research activities (IT, administration, management, logistics).
The Resources
The resources available to CEN researchers include digital models, national databases, and field and laboratory measurement equipment.
The models
The CEN uses and develops two numerical models to represent the evolution of the snowpack:
- Crocus is a one-dimensional numerical model based on thermodynamics that simulates the energy and material balance of the snowpack. It has been developed at CEN since the late 1980s and its main objective is to describe in detail the evolution of the internal properties of the snowpack, particularly its microstructure. It is used in particular in the chain SAFRAN-SURFEX/Crocus-MEPRA providing operational information on snowpack conditions to services responsible for avalanche risk forecasting. It is also used for hydrological, ecological, glaciological and climatic applications, as well as for monitoring snow cover in ski resorts.
- Helmut is a next-generation search model developed as part of the research project IVORI. It will enable new physical processes to be represented and provide a better description of the variety of snow properties around the world, including in the Arctic. Ultimately, it could also be used as a benchmark to improve certain model parameterisations Crocus.
The equipment
The CEN maintains several measurement sites in Isère, which allow it to conduct experimental campaigns and build up observation datasets necessary for improving and developing new models.
- Col de Porte (1 325 m asl)
- Col du Lac Blanc (2 800 m asl)
The laboratory also has cold-room facilities that enable samples to be collected in the field and experiments to be carried out under controlled conditions (air temperature and humidity), such as experiments on how snow changes over time. In particluar, the Col de Porte site and the main facility on the campus are equiped with a high-resolution tomographs.
Research teams :
CENOBS : Observation of the snowpack and its interfaces