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

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 spatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-08, Vol.13 (16), p.3212
Main Authors: Jiang, Youyan, Du, Wentao, Chen, Jizu, Sun, Wenxuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Altitude
Annual variations
Arid regions
climate and topographic causes
Climate change
Cryosphere
Global climate
High altitude
Hydrologic cycle
hydrological effect
Hydrology
Meltwater
Precipitation
Quality control
Rain
Regions
Remote sensing
River basins
River catchments
Rivers
Runoff
Snow
Snow accumulation
Snow cover
Software
Spatial distribution
spatiotemporal variations
Time series
Topography
Upstream
Weather
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Summary: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.
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs13163212