Benchmarking Snow Fields of ERA5-Land in the Northern Regions of North America

Abstract. Reanalysis products provide new opportunities for assessments of historical Earth System states. This is crucial for snow variables, where ground-based observations are sparse and incomplete, and remote sensing measurements still face limitation. However, because reanalysis data are model-based, their accuracy must be evaluated before being applied in impact and attribution studies. In this study, we assess the accuracy of ERA5-Land's snow cover, snow depth, and Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) across monthly, seasonal, and annual scales, within the ecological regions of Canada and Alaska, regions that are characterized by prolonged seasonal snow cover. Using MODIS satellite snow cover observations and the gridded snow depth/SWE analysis data from the Canadian Meteorological Centre, we conduct a consistent benchmarking of ERA5-Land’s snow fields to (1) identify discrepancies at both gridded and regional scales, (2) evaluate the reproducibility of spatial structure of snow variables, and (3) uncover potential spatial patterns of discrepancies in ERA5-Land's snow statistics. Our results highlight significant discrepancies, particularly for snow depth and SWE, where ERA5-Land tends to grossly overestimate long-term mean values and interannual variability, while underestimating trends, i.e., moderating positive trends and exaggerating negative ones. The discrepancies in SWE, however, are primarily driven by biases in snow depth rather than snow density. Therefore, we advise against the direct use of ERA5-Land's snow depth and SWE in Canada and Alaska. While snow cover and snow density may still be useful for impact and attribution studies, they should be applied with caution and potential bias corrections particularly at local and smaller scales.