C1_snow_melt_date_logger_varanger

Snow melt is extracted from temperature logger data as the first day of the year with a daily mean temperature above 1.1 °C. A threshold temperature of 1.1 °C has proven to be most reliable for determining snow melt date from iButtons that are placed in white tubes on ground level. This logger set up allows for small temperature variation (between 0.5 and 1 deg C) at the beginning the snow free season because direct sun light might warm up the air inside the tube.

If the loggers are lying in melt water, temperatures often rise over 1.1 deg C and then stay constant at around 0 deg C for another couple of days. Some loggers did not reach a daily mean temperature over 1.1 deg C before they were collected. However, these loggers were collected just after the snow melted. Thus, the date when the loggers were collected will be used as the date of snow melt