Characteristics of the Tibetan Plateau snow cover variations based on daily data during 1997–2011

Shen, Samuel S. P.; Yao, Ruohe; Ngo, Jazlynn Qui Ngoc; Basist, Alan M.; Thomas, Neil; Yao, Tandong

doi:10.1007/s00704-014-1185-0

Cited by 49 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The soil moisture observations using the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager showed a significant wetting trend during the warm seasons of 1987–2008 in the Inner‐TP [ Velde et al ., ]. Other factors, such as snowpack changes, are considered small because no significant snow cover trends have been found on the TP [ Shen et al ., ]. The greater net precipitation together with glacier melt and permafrost degradation since 1998 appears to have contributed to the rapid enlargement of lake area in the TP, especially in the Inner‐TP.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extensive and drastically different alpine lake changes on Asia's high plateaus during the past four decades

Zhang

Yao

Piao

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

Self Cite

242

158

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Asia's high plateaus are sensitive to climate change and have been experiencing rapid warming over the past few decades. We found 99 new lakes and extensive lake expansion on the Tibetan Plateau during the last four decades, 1970–2013, due to increased precipitation and cryospheric contributions to its water balance. This contrasts with disappearing lakes and drastic shrinkage of lake areas on the adjacent Mongolian Plateau: 208 lakes disappeared, and 75% of the remaining lakes have shrunk. We detected a statistically significant coincidental timing of lake area changes in both plateaus, associated with the climate regime shift that occurred during 1997/1998. This distinct change in 1997/1998 is thought to be driven by large‐scale atmospheric circulation changes in response to climate warming. Our findings reveal that these two adjacent plateaus have been changing in opposite directions in response to climate change. These findings shed light on the complex role of the regional climate and water cycles and provide useful information for ecological and water resource planning in these fragile landscapes.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extensive and drastically different alpine lake changes on Asia's high plateaus during the past four decades

Zhang

Yao

Piao

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

Self Cite

242

158

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Westerly-affected regions such as the Karakoram and Pamir have extensive winter snow cover (Xiao et al 2007;Pu and Xu 2009;Zhou et al 2013;Shen et al 2015;Tahir et al 2016), while snow cover in monsoon-dominated areas is limited to high elevations (Immerzeel et al 2009;Dahri et al 2011;Savoskul and Smakhtin 2013;Hasson et al 2014;Singh et al 2014). The snow-covered area in the upper Indus Basin (UIB) varies between 4 and 57%, with the maximum occurring in spring; westerly-affected catchments within the UIB have a higher mean annual snow-covered area, at 51%, than monsoon-dominated catchments, at 20% (Hasson et al 2014).…”

Section: Regional Differences In Snow Covermentioning

confidence: 99%

Status and Change of the Cryosphere in the Extended Hindu Kush Himalaya Region

Bolch

Shea

Liu

et al. 2019

The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment

210

175

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…A series of studies have been conducted to investigate the snow cover changes over the TP during the past years; however, the conclusions vary regarding snow cover changes. The majority state a small increasing trend in snow cover over the TP during 1951–1997 based on the in situ observations and satellite data (Li, ; Qin et al ., ), and a slight decrease trend from 1997 to 2012 mostly by analysing the satellite images (Pu et al ., ; Gurung et al ., ; Sun et al ., ; Shen et al ., ). Ma et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Spatiotemporal variation of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau based on MODIS snow product, 2001–2014

Yang

et al. 2017

Intl Journal of Climatology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, we investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics and trends of snow cover fraction (SCF) in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and seven upstream river basins (Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Brahmaputra, Indus and Yarkant) by employing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data for 2001-2014. The possible linkage between the SCF, and temperature and precipitation changes over the TP and individual basins is also investigated. Results suggest that the distribution of snow cover over the TP exhibit a large spatiotemporal heterogeneity with high SCFs mainly concentrating on the southern and western edges which is strongly linked to the moist air supplies. The distribution of snow cover is highly dependent on the elevations, with a higher SCF and a later onset of snow melt at the higher elevation zones than at the lowers. There is an elevation threshold existing for separating two distinct snow cover regimes, which are 4000 m for the western basins and 5000 m for the southeastern basins. The snow cover over the TP has slightly decreased by about 1.1% during 2001-2014, with dramatic reductions mostly lying in the heavy snowy regions and some light increases occurring in the areas with annual mean SCFs mostly less than 10%. The reduction rates of snow cover increase with the rising of altitudes for the TP average, and the basins of Indus, Yarkant, Salween and Brahmaputra. At the same time, the Yellow and Yangtze basins exhibit larger increasing rates of snow cover at the higher elevations zones. The SCF variations are linked to the temperature and precipitation changes. Precipitation tends to be the major factor impacting the snow cover changes in the TP during 2001-2014.

show abstract

Characteristics of the Tibetan Plateau snow cover variations based on daily data during 1997–2011

Cited by 49 publications

References 16 publications

Extensive and drastically different alpine lake changes on Asia's high plateaus during the past four decades

Extensive and drastically different alpine lake changes on Asia's high plateaus during the past four decades

Status and Change of the Cryosphere in the Extended Hindu Kush Himalaya Region

Spatiotemporal variation of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau based on MODIS snow product, 2001–2014

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About