Spatiotemporal Variations in Snow Cover and Hydrological Effects in the Upstream Region of the Shule River Catchment, Northwestern China.

Jiang, Youyan; Du, Wentao; Chen, Jizu; Sun, Wenxuan

Precipitation and snow/ice melt water are the primary water sources in inland river basins in arid areas, and these are sensitive to global climate change. A dataset of snow cover in the upstream region of the Shule River catchment was established using MOD10A2 data from 2000 to 2019, and the spatiotemporal variations in the snow cover and its meteorological, runoff, and topographic impacts were analyzed. The results show that the spatial distribution of the snow cover is highly uneven owing to altitude differences. The snow cover in spring and autumn is mainly concentrated along the edges of the region, whereas that in winter and summer is mainly distributed in the south. Notable differences in snow accumulation and melting are observed at different altitudes, and the annual variation in the snow cover extent shows bimodal characteristics. The correlation between the snow cover extent and runoff is most significant in April. The snow cover effectively replenishes the runoff at higher altitudes (3300–4900 m), but this contribution weakens with increasing altitude (>4900 m). The regions with a high snow cover frequency are mostly concentrated at high altitudes. Regions with slopes of 45°. The snow cover frequency and slope aspect show symmetrical changes.

SNOW cover; SNOW accumulation; SNOWMELT; WATERSHEDS; CLIMATE change; MELTWATER; ALTITUDES

Remote Sensing, 2021, Vol 13, Issue 16, p3212

2072-4292

Academic Journal

10.3390/rs13163212