Niwano, Masashi; Aoki, Teruo; Tanikawa, Tomonori; Ohkawara, Nozomu; Matoba, Sumito; Kodama, Yuji (2020): Meteorological and snow observation data obtained at Sapporo, Japan for snow-related process studies [dataset bundled publication]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.919800

Quality-controlled meteorological/snow measurement data obtained from a research-oriented automated weather station (AWS) installed in the observation field of the Institute of Low Temperature Science (ILTS), Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan maintained by the Meteorological Research Institute, Japan Meteorological Agency (MRI/JMA) and ILTS are presented. Originally, the AWS was installed to utilize the data for process studies related to the snow-atmosphere interaction, then contributed to the development of a physically based snow albedo model of MRI/JMA. After the success, the data were used again for the development of a detailed physical snowpack model by MRI/JMA. Apart from that, the data were used to propose a light scattering model of snow grains and snow impurities for accurate radiative transfer modeling and satellite remote sensing. Some of the data presented here have ever contributed to the international snow model inter-comparison project ESM-SnowMIP, where this observation site is the only station chosen from Asia. The dataset includes 1. Gap-filled half-hourly meteorological/snow data from November to April to drive snow models (snow depth, precipitation, wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, surface pressure, downward shortwave and longwave radiant fluxes, solar zenith and azimuth angles, direct and diffuse components of downward visible and near-infrared radiant fluxes, ground surface heat flux, and soil temperature at 100 cm depth), 2. Half-hourly radiation measurement data for snow physical process studies from November to April (snow depth, shortwave, visible, and near-infrared albedos, snow surface temperature, downward and upward radiant fluxes, and diffuse and direct components of downward radiant fluxes), and 3. Spectral albedo and diffuse fraction data measured with a ground-based spectral radiometer system for albedo and flux (GSAF).