A conceptual snow model with an analytic resolution of the heat and phase change equations

Compared to degree-day snow models, physically-based snow models resolve more processes in an attempt to achieve a better representation of reality. Often these physically-based models resolve the heat transport equations in snow using a vertical discretization of the snowpack. The snowpack is decomposed into several layers in which the mechanical and thermal states of the snow are calculated. A higher number of layers in the snowpack allow for better accuracy but it also tends to increase the computational costs.