Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes

Catriona L. Fyffe; Emily Potter; Evan Miles; Thomas E. Shaw; Michael McCarthy; Andrew Orr; Edwin Loarte; Katy Medina; Simone Fatichi; Rob Hellström; Michel Baraer; Emilio Mateo; Alejo Cochachin; Matthew Westoby; Francesca Pellicciotti

doi:10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x

Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes

Catriona L. Fyffe^*, Emily Potter, Evan Miles, Thomas E. Shaw, Michael McCarthy, Andrew Orr, Edwin Loarte, Katy Medina, Simone Fatichi, Rob Hellström, Michel Baraer, Emilio Mateo, Alejo Cochachin, Matthew Westoby, Francesca Pellicciotti

^*Corresponding author for this work

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4 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

The snow and glaciers of the Peruvian Andes provide vital water supplies in a region facing water scarcity and substantial glacier change. However, there remains a lack of understanding of snow processes and quantification of the contribution of melt to runoff. Here we apply a distributed glacio-hydrological model over the Rio Santa basin to disentangle the role of the cryosphere in the Andean water cycle. Only at the highest elevations (>5000 m a.s.l.) is the snow cover continuous; at lower elevations, the snowpack is thin and ephemeral, with rapid cycles of snowfall and melt. Due to the large catchment area affected by ephemeral snow, its contribution to catchment inputs is substantial (23% and 38% in the wet and dry season, respectively). Ice melt is crucial in the mid-dry season (up to 44% of inputs). Our results improve estimates of water fluxes and call for further process-based modelling across the Andes.

Original language	English
Article number	434
Pages (from-to)	1-12
Number of pages	12
Journal	Communications Earth and Environment
Volume	6
Issue number	1
Early online date	5 Jun 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x
Publication status	Published - 5 Jun 2025

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SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation

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Fyffe, C. L., Potter, E., Miles, E., Shaw, T. E., McCarthy, M., Orr, A., Loarte, E., Medina, K., Fatichi, S., Hellström, R., Baraer, M., Mateo, E., Cochachin, A., Westoby, M., & Pellicciotti, F. (2025). Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes. Communications Earth and Environment, 6(1), 1-12. Article 434. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x

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abstract = "The snow and glaciers of the Peruvian Andes provide vital water supplies in a region facing water scarcity and substantial glacier change. However, there remains a lack of understanding of snow processes and quantification of the contribution of melt to runoff. Here we apply a distributed glacio-hydrological model over the Rio Santa basin to disentangle the role of the cryosphere in the Andean water cycle. Only at the highest elevations (>5000 m a.s.l.) is the snow cover continuous; at lower elevations, the snowpack is thin and ephemeral, with rapid cycles of snowfall and melt. Due to the large catchment area affected by ephemeral snow, its contribution to catchment inputs is substantial (23\% and 38\% in the wet and dry season, respectively). Ice melt is crucial in the mid-dry season (up to 44\% of inputs). Our results improve estimates of water fluxes and call for further process-based modelling across the Andes.",

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Fyffe, CL, Potter, E, Miles, E, Shaw, TE, McCarthy, M, Orr, A, Loarte, E, Medina, K, Fatichi, S, Hellström, R, Baraer, M, Mateo, E, Cochachin, A, Westoby, M & Pellicciotti, F 2025, 'Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes', Communications Earth and Environment, vol. 6, no. 1, 434, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02379-x

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T1 - Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes

AU - Fyffe, Catriona L.

AU - Potter, Emily

AU - Miles, Evan

AU - Shaw, Thomas E.

AU - McCarthy, Michael

AU - Orr, Andrew

AU - Loarte, Edwin

AU - Medina, Katy

AU - Fatichi, Simone

AU - Hellström, Rob

AU - Baraer, Michel

AU - Mateo, Emilio

AU - Cochachin, Alejo

AU - Westoby, Matthew

AU - Pellicciotti, Francesca

PY - 2025/6/5

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N2 - The snow and glaciers of the Peruvian Andes provide vital water supplies in a region facing water scarcity and substantial glacier change. However, there remains a lack of understanding of snow processes and quantification of the contribution of melt to runoff. Here we apply a distributed glacio-hydrological model over the Rio Santa basin to disentangle the role of the cryosphere in the Andean water cycle. Only at the highest elevations (>5000 m a.s.l.) is the snow cover continuous; at lower elevations, the snowpack is thin and ephemeral, with rapid cycles of snowfall and melt. Due to the large catchment area affected by ephemeral snow, its contribution to catchment inputs is substantial (23% and 38% in the wet and dry season, respectively). Ice melt is crucial in the mid-dry season (up to 44% of inputs). Our results improve estimates of water fluxes and call for further process-based modelling across the Andes.

AB - The snow and glaciers of the Peruvian Andes provide vital water supplies in a region facing water scarcity and substantial glacier change. However, there remains a lack of understanding of snow processes and quantification of the contribution of melt to runoff. Here we apply a distributed glacio-hydrological model over the Rio Santa basin to disentangle the role of the cryosphere in the Andean water cycle. Only at the highest elevations (>5000 m a.s.l.) is the snow cover continuous; at lower elevations, the snowpack is thin and ephemeral, with rapid cycles of snowfall and melt. Due to the large catchment area affected by ephemeral snow, its contribution to catchment inputs is substantial (23% and 38% in the wet and dry season, respectively). Ice melt is crucial in the mid-dry season (up to 44% of inputs). Our results improve estimates of water fluxes and call for further process-based modelling across the Andes.

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JO - Communications Earth and Environment

JF - Communications Earth and Environment

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ER -

Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes

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