Scottish snow cover dependence on the North Atlantic Oscillation index
Forecasting seasonal snow cover is useful for planning resources and mitigating natural hazards. We present a link between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and days of snow cover in Scotland between winters beginning from 1875 to 2013. Using broad (5 km resolution), national scale data set...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IWA Publishing
2016-06-01
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| Series: | Hydrology Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/47/3/619 |
| _version_ | 1831563266595225600 |
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| author | Michael Spencer Richard Essery |
| author_facet | Michael Spencer Richard Essery |
| author_sort | Michael Spencer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forecasting seasonal snow cover is useful for planning resources and mitigating natural hazards. We present a link between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and days of snow cover in Scotland between winters beginning from 1875 to 2013. Using broad (5 km resolution), national scale data sets like UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) to extract nationwide patterns, we support these findings using hillslope scale data from the Snow Survey of Great Britain (SSGB). Currently collected snow cover data are considered using remotely sensed satellite observations, from moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer; but the results are inconclusive due to cloud. The strongest correlations between the NAO index and snow cover are found in eastern and southern Scotland; these results are supported by both SSGB and UKCP09 data. Correlations between NAO index and snow cover are negative with the strongest relationships found for elevations below 750 m. Four SSGB sites (two in eastern Scotland, two in southern Scotland) were modelled linearly with resulting slopes between −6 and −16 days of snow cover per NAO index integer value. This is the first time the relationship between NAO index and snow cover duration has been quantified and mapped in Scotland. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T10:52:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c4e5740892f4af9809dd300d45aada4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1998-9563 2224-7955 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T10:52:17Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | IWA Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c4e5740892f4af9809dd300d45aada42022-12-21T21:51:55ZengIWA PublishingHydrology Research1998-95632224-79552016-06-0147361962910.2166/nh.2016.085085Scottish snow cover dependence on the North Atlantic Oscillation indexMichael Spencer0Richard Essery1 School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, James Hutton Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK E-mail: m.spencer@ed.ac.uk School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, James Hutton Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK E-mail: m.spencer@ed.ac.uk Forecasting seasonal snow cover is useful for planning resources and mitigating natural hazards. We present a link between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and days of snow cover in Scotland between winters beginning from 1875 to 2013. Using broad (5 km resolution), national scale data sets like UK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) to extract nationwide patterns, we support these findings using hillslope scale data from the Snow Survey of Great Britain (SSGB). Currently collected snow cover data are considered using remotely sensed satellite observations, from moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer; but the results are inconclusive due to cloud. The strongest correlations between the NAO index and snow cover are found in eastern and southern Scotland; these results are supported by both SSGB and UKCP09 data. Correlations between NAO index and snow cover are negative with the strongest relationships found for elevations below 750 m. Four SSGB sites (two in eastern Scotland, two in southern Scotland) were modelled linearly with resulting slopes between −6 and −16 days of snow cover per NAO index integer value. This is the first time the relationship between NAO index and snow cover duration has been quantified and mapped in Scotland.http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/47/3/619climatenorth atlantic oscillationscotlandsnow |
| spellingShingle | Michael Spencer Richard Essery Scottish snow cover dependence on the North Atlantic Oscillation index Hydrology Research climate north atlantic oscillation scotland snow |
| title | Scottish snow cover dependence on the North Atlantic Oscillation index |
| title_full | Scottish snow cover dependence on the North Atlantic Oscillation index |
| title_fullStr | Scottish snow cover dependence on the North Atlantic Oscillation index |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scottish snow cover dependence on the North Atlantic Oscillation index |
| title_short | Scottish snow cover dependence on the North Atlantic Oscillation index |
| title_sort | scottish snow cover dependence on the north atlantic oscillation index |
| topic | climate north atlantic oscillation scotland snow |
| url | http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/47/3/619 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelspencer scottishsnowcoverdependenceonthenorthatlanticoscillationindex AT richardessery scottishsnowcoverdependenceonthenorthatlanticoscillationindex |