Method of Estimating Snowy Climate Values to Use Future Projections with Global Climate Model

摘要

In cold snowy regions of Japan, it is considered important to understand changes in winter climate conditions in order to enable contribution to the development of long-term snow and ice control plans and measures. In this study, a method of estimating snowy climate values for use in future projections with a global climate model was investigated. Formulas to support the estimation of snowy climate values (e.g., transport rate of drifting snow) were initially created using past meteorological data, and future projection data were substituted into the formulas. The results indicated that the predicted means of snowy climate values were lower than the present values at two points in Hokkaido. In future work, the authors plan to create future distribution maps showing snowy climate values in cold snowy regions of Japan for utilization in winter maintenance work.