Snowpack is an accumulation ofsnow that compresses with time and melts seasonally, often at high elevation or high latitude.^[1][2] Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as they melt, sometimes leading to flooding. Snowpacks provide water to down-slope communities for drinking and agriculture.^[3] High-latitude or high-elevation snowpacks contribute mass toglaciers in theiraccumulation zones, where annual snow deposition exceeds annual melting.^[4]

Assessing the formation and stability of snowpacks is important in the study and prediction ofavalanches.^[5][6] Scientists study the physical properties of snow under different conditions and their evolution, and more specifically snowmetamorphism,^[7][8] snowhydrology (that is, the contribution of snow melt tocatchment hydrology), the evolution of snow cover withclimate change and its effect on theice–albedo feedback and hydrology, both on the ground and by usingremote sensing.^[9] Snow is also studied in a more global context of impact on animalhabitats andplant succession.^[10] An important effort is put into snow classification, both as ahydrometeor^[11] and on the ground.^[12]

Snowpack modeling is done for snow stability, flood forecasting, water resource management, and climate studies.^[13] Snowpack modeling is either done by simple, statistical methods such asdegree day or complex, physically based energy balance models such as SNOWPACK, CROCUS or SNOWMODEL.^[14][15][16]

• Advection
• Glacial period
• Glacier mass balance
• Hydrology
• Subnivean climate

• SNOWPACK
• CROCUS
• SnowModel