A Northern Snowmelt Model

Abstract

In early 1968, a large petroleum discovery was made in the Prudhoe Bay area of Alaska's Arctic Coastal Plain. This discovery has led Alaska into a period of development of unprecedented speed and magnitude. This development will require the construction of many engineering facilities which are affected by the water resources. The design of each of these requires an understanding of the hydrologic system, a system which is dominated in Alaska by low temperatures, high latitudes, large elevation differences and sparse data. The latter factor is unique to Alaska and makes application of common design techniques virtually impossible.