A Comparison of Air Temperature Trends in the Khibiny Mountains and Over Surrounding Plains

Демин, В. И.; Volkov, A. V.

doi:10.21513/2410-8758-2017-3-16-27

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 6 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…There has also been an overall trend towards stronger winds (Roshydromet, 2005). Within the WMR, at the highest altitudes of the Khibiny Mountains, air temperature increased in all the seasons by 0.22 to 0.54°C per decade between 1965 and 2015 (Demin and Volkov, 2017).…”

Section: Climate Of the Western Mountain Regions (Wmr) 110mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing snow cover changes in the Kola Peninsula, Arctic Russia, using a synthesis of MODIS snow products and station observations

Vignols

Marshall

Rees

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Abstract. The very high albedo of snow means that changes in its coverage have a significant impact on the Earth's global energy budget. Thus, Northern Hemisphere snow cover, which comprises approximately 98 % of the global total area of seasonal snow, is responsible for the largest annual and inter-annual contrasts in land surface albedo. Here, we examine recent changes in snow cover (2000–2016) in the western mountain regions (hereinafter WMR) of the Kola Peninsula in Arctic Russia, an area that has undergone significant climate change in recent decades. Future changes in snow cover have the potential to have a major socio-economic impact in this region, which is primarily dependent on mining and tourism for its economy. We used a combination of remote sensing data, the first time it has been used to assess snow cover in this region, and meteorological observations in our analysis. The snow cover products were processed to maximise the number of cloud-free days. First and last days of snow cover were derived for each year from snow depth observations at meteorological stations. MODIS-derived snow cover dates were compared to these station-derived dates to look for systematic biases in the satellite data. We find that for 85.8 % of pixels investigated the deviation between the MODIS-derived and station-derived snow cover start and end dates is less than 20 days. These locally calibrated MODIS data were then used in combination with data from meteorological stations to determine the trends and variability in the duration of the snow season in the WMR in the past half century. Snow cover was found to be highly variable both spatially and at inter-annual timescales. Overall, the duration of the snow season decreased at higher altitudes and increased in valleys and plains. High spatial variability in trends in the snow cover season and snow depth across the region can be partially explained by the effect of orography and wind scouring. Between 2000 and 2016, opposing trends in the duration of the snow cover season occur at different stations within the WMR, though more consistent trends appear over a 25-year common interval wherein the snow cover duration has decreased statistically significantly at four of five stations. Finally, MODIS is shown to provide a highly reliable snow dataset for assessing regional snow cover changes, being able to identify correctly the only statistically significant trend observed at meteorological station.

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Section: Climate Of the Western Mountain Regions (Wmr) 110mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing snow cover changes in the Kola Peninsula, Arctic Russia, using a synthesis of MODIS snow products and station observations

Vignols

Marshall

Rees

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Structure and Dynamics of Snow and Ice Formations in the Khibiny Mountains in the 21st Century

Vikulina

Romanenko

Зимин

et al. 2023

Lomonosov Geography Journal

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In 1958 V.F. Perov, staff member of the Khibiny Research and Training Station of the MSU Faculty of Geography, described four snow-ice formations in the Khibiny Mountains and classified them as very small glaciers. Until our research began in 2005, these glaciers were not studied in detail. We used field observations, drilling, GIS and remote sensing methods to study the structure of the glaciers and evaluate changes in their geometry during 60 years. The snow-ice formations were drilled through for the first time and the ice cores underwent geochemical and isotope-oxygen analyses. The thickness of ice kernels varies from 0,2 to 1,6 m. Our investigations showed that despite a slight degradation, the glaciers` area remains relatively stable since 1958. This fact may be caused by the increase in solid precipitation in recent years. According to the analysis of climatic changes, in the early 2000s a decrease in snowfall was observed in the Khibiny Mountains. The maximum snow thickness at the meteorological site of the Khibiny station in 2002-2003 winter period was 55 cm. This could be a factor of more than 2 times decrease of glacier areas during 2000-2010. After 2007 there has been an increase in snow precipitation, and the maximum snow depth of 180 cm was observed in 2020, the absolute maximum for the whole period of observations (1984-2020). According to published data the increase in mean annual temperature at the plains of the Kola Peninsula is 2,3 ± 1°C during the last 50 years. However, mean monthly temperatures of the summer do not rise. We consider that, along with recently increasing snow precipitation, this is exactly what determine rather stable state of snow-ice formations in the Khibiny Mountains, which appeared to be more resistant to climate warming than mountain glaciers.

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A Comparison of Air Temperature Trends in the Khibiny Mountains and Over Surrounding Plains

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

Assessing snow cover changes in the Kola Peninsula, Arctic Russia, using a synthesis of MODIS snow products and station observations

Assessing snow cover changes in the Kola Peninsula, Arctic Russia, using a synthesis of MODIS snow products and station observations

Structure and Dynamics of Snow and Ice Formations in the Khibiny Mountains in the 21st Century

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