Table 1.
Synthesis of approaches used for recent regional or local scale climate change impact studies on ski tourism in Europe.
| Reference | Geographical domain | Geographical resolution | Representation of ski resorts | Impact model | Indicators | Downscaling method | Climate projections | Statistical processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damm et al. (2017) | 12 European countries (AT, CH, CZ, DE, ES, FI, FR, IT, SE, SI, SK, NO) | NUTS-3 (3 simulation points per NUTS-3 at low, mean and high elevation, on flat terrain) | Location of ski resorts accounted for in the calculation of NUTS-3 representative elevations. | Hydrological model VIC (natural snow processes) | Monthly mean snow water equivalents, Fraction of days per month with at least 120 mm SWE, Fraction of days per month with at least 4 mm SWE | Use of E-OBS data for current conditions. No downscaling for future changes. | 11 EURO-CORDEX pairs (2x RCP2.6, 5x RCP4.5, 4x RCP8.5) | Median |
| Tranos and Davoudi (2014) | 27 EU countries + Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein | NUTS-3, one climate model grid point per NUTS-3 | No representation of ski resorts | Natural snow model in CCLM climate model | Number of days with snow cover | Direct use of regional climate output | 1 CCLM model run (A1B, driving GCM not stated). | Unknown. |
| Spandre et al. (2019a) | FR (French Alps) | Massifs (1000 km2), with elevation steps of 300 m, accounting for several slopes and aspects. | Explicit representation of ski resorts’ topography and spatial organization in the model chain. | Crocus-Resort, accounting for natural, grooming and snowmaking processes | Resort-level reliability computed over Christmas and Winter seasons, based on the proportion of the ski resorts with at least 100 kg m-2 SWE. | ADAMONT method, use of SAFRAN reanalysis as observation data set. | 30 EURO-CORDEX pairs (4x RCP2.6, 13x RCP4.5, 13x RCP8.5) | Multi-model mean/stdev and quantiles of annual values for selected time periods. |
| Spandre et al. (2019b) | FR, ES, AD (French Alps and Pyrenees), | Massifs (1000 km2), with elevation steps of 300 m, on flat terrain. | Explicit representation of location and elevation range of ski resorts for the computation of the reliability categories. | Crocus-Resort, accounting for natural, grooming and snowmaking processes | Reliability elevation line based on number of days with at least 100 kg m−2 SWE (with and without snowmaking) | ADAMONT method, use of SAFRAN reanalysis as observation data set. | 30 EURO-CORDEX pairs (4x RCP2.6, 13x RCP4.5, 13x RCP8.5) | Classification of ski resorts based on reliability categories, based on distribution of annual values, depending on time periods. |
| Steiger and Scott (2020) | AT | Simulations for 208 ski resorts in Austria, results reported for 7 provinces and full country. | Explicit simulation for each ski area, using 100 m elevation bands and three aspects (north, south, west/east), and adjusting the snowmaking intensity based on comparison with observed opening/closure dates. | SkiSim3, calibrated using observations in ski resorts. | Snow depth above 30 cm for at least 100 days or snow depth continuously above 30 cm during the Christmas-New Years holiday period in 7 out of 10 seasons. Terrain indicator based on snow conditions at different time periods during the snow season. | 56 weather stations (ZAMG) for baseline simulations; use of monthly temperature and precipitation changes from climate projections. | 26 EURO-CORDEX pairs (13x RCP4.5, 13xRCP8.5) | Ensemble means for various 30 years time periods in the future |
| Scott et al. (2019) | NO | Simulations for 110 ski resorts in Norway, results reported for 5 provinces. | Explicit simulation for each ski area, using 100 m elevation bands and three aspects (north, south, west/east), and adjusting the snowmaking intensity based on comparison with observed opening/closure dates. | SkiSim2 | Snow depth above 30 cm for at least 100 days | 41 weather stations for baseline simulations; change values from climate projections. | 20 EURO-CORDEX pairs (10x RCP4.5, 10xRCP8.5) | Ensemble average values for various 30 years time periods in the future |