@article{fdi:010074367,
  title = {{V}ariations of the snow water equivalent in the {O}urika catchment ({M}orocco) over 2000-2018 using downscaled {MERRA}-2 data},
  author = {{B}aba, {M}. {W}. and {G}ascoin, {S}. and {J}arlan, {L}ionel and {S}imonneaux, {V}incent and {H}anich, {L}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he {O}urika {R}iver is an important tributary of the {T}ensift {R}iver in the water-stressed region of {M}arrakesh ({M}orocco). {T}he {O}urika river flow is dominated by the snow melt contribution from the {H}igh {A}tlas mountains. {D}espite its importance in terms of water resources, the snow water equivalent ({SWE}) is poorly monitored in the {O}urika catchment. {H}ere, we used {MERRA}-2 data to run a distributed energy-balance snowpack model ({S}now{M}odel) over 2000-2018. {MERRA}-2 data were downscaled to 250-m spatial resolution using a digital elevation model. {T}he model outputs were compared to in situ measurements of snow depth, precipitation, river flow and remote sensing observations of the snow cover area from {MODIS}. {T}he results indicate that the model provides an overall acceptable representation of the snow cover dynamics given the coarse resolution of the {MERRA}-2 forcing. {T}hen, we used the model output to analyze the spatio-temporal variations of the {SWE} in the {O}urika catchment for the first time. {W}e suggest that {MERRA}-2 data, which are routinely available with a delay of a few weeks, can provide valuable information to monitor the snow resource in high mountain areas without in situ measurements.},
  keywords = {snow water equivalent ; semi-arid climate ; {MODIS} ; {MERRA}-2 ; {MAROC} ; {ZONE} {SEMIARIDE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{W}ater},
  volume = {10},
  numero = {9},
  pages = {1120 [18 ]},
  ISSN = {2073-4441},
  year = {2018},
  DOI = {10.3390/w10091120},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010074367},
}