Analysis of in situ and satellite data shows evidence of different regional snow cover responses to the widespread warming and increasing winter precipitation that has characterized the Arctic climate for the past 40-50 years. The largest and most rapid decreases in snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow cover duration (SCD) are observed over maritime regions of the Arctic with the highest precipitation amounts. There is also evidence of marked differences in the response of snow cover between the North American and Eurasian sectors of the Arctic, with the North American sector exhibiting decreases in snow cover and snow depth over the entire period of available in situ observations from around 1950, while widespread decreases in snow cover are not apparent over Eurasia until after around 1980. However, snow depths are increasing in many regions of Eurasia. Warming and more frequent winter thaws are contributing to changes in snow pack structure with important implications for land use and provision of ecosystem services. Projected changes in snow cover from Global Climate Models for the 2050 period indicate increases in maximum SWE of up to 15% over much of the Arctic, with the largest increases (15-30%) over the Siberian sector. In contrast, SCD is projected to decrease by about 10-20% over much of the Arctic, with the smallest decreases over Siberia (\10%) and the largest decreases over Alaska and northern Scandinavia (30-40%) by 2050. These projected changes will have far-reaching consequences for the climate system, human activities, hydrology, and ecology.

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[1] Satellite-based time series of land surface temperature (LST) have the potential to be an important tool to diagnose climate changes of the past several decades. Production of such a time series requires addressing several issues with using asynchronous satellite observations, including the diurnal cycle, clouds, and angular anisotropy. Here we evaluate the angular anisotropy of LST using one full year of simultaneous observations by two Geostationary Operational Environment Satellites, GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST, at the locations of five surface radiation (SURFRAD) stations. We develop a technique to convert directionally observed LST into directionindependent equivalent physical temperature of the land surface. The anisotropy model consists of an isotropic kernel, an emissivity kernel (LST dependence on viewing angle), and a solar kernel (effect of directional inhomogeneity of observed temperature). Application of this model reduces differences of LST observed from two satellites and between the satellites and surface ground truth -SURFRAD station observed LST. The techniques of angular adjustment and temporal interpolation of satellite observed LST open a path for blending together historical, current, and future observations of many geostationary and polar orbiters into a homogeneous multi-decadal data set for climate change research. Citation: