Effect of Elevation, Slope and Aspect on Snow Depth at Samsami Basin

Spatial distribution of snow depth is affected by topographic parameters. To estimate the snow depth, parameters like elevation, slope and aspect were evaluated in relation to snow depth. To this, 258 points located inside the area under study (Samsami Basin) of 5.2 Km2 with a range of elevation from 2287 to 2933m were selected and the depth of snow packs were measured for them late February 2006. For the evaluation of the effect of these parameters on snow depth, correlation analysis method was used. The result of analyzing the correlation of snow depth with elevation was positive and significant at 5% level for up to 2780m. However, for elevation more than 2780m, this relation was inverse with no significance at 5% level. The correlation of snow depth with the degree of slope which ranged between 3.8 to 14.85 did not show a meaningful relation at 5% level, but showed an inverse relation. For the degree of slope more than 14.85, the correlation relation was positive, but with no significance at 5% level. Finally, the relation of snow depth with the aspect from 0 to 166 degrees (Azimuth), showed a good and significant correlation at 5% level. However, significant correlation was not obtained for the aspect ranging between 172 to 204 and 206 to 359 degrees at 5% level.