Dear All,

The CMIP6 data request includes a request for a variable representing the 
precipitation flux of water in a solid phase (including snow and ice). This 
variable was also in CMIP5. The current CMIP6 data request follows CMIP5 usage 
in adopting the standard name "snowfall_flux" for this variable, which is not 
really correct. There may have been a time when all solid precipitation in CMIP 
models was snow, but I think we need a more precise name now.


We have "rainfall_flux" for precipitation of liquid phase water, but in other 
terms the construction "liquid_water" is used to refer to the liquid phase, 
e.g. "mass_concentration_of_liquid_water_in_air", so "solid_water" is a natural 
extension.


I propose a new standard name for solid phase precipitation:


precipitation_flux_of_solid_water [kg m-2 s-1]

In accordance with common usage in geophysical disciplines, "flux" implies per 
unit area, called "flux density" in physics. "solid_water" refers to all forms 
of the solid phase of water.


regards,

Martin
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