Fast Warming Has Accelerated Snow Cover Loss during Spring and Summer across the Northern Hemisphere over the Past 52 Years (1967–2018)
With snow cover changing worldwide in several worrisome ways, it is imperative to determine both the variability in snow cover in greater detail and its relationship with ongoing climate change. Here, we used the satellite-based snow cover extent (SCE) dataset of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adm...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/7/728 |
| _version_ | 1797563103990251520 |
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| author | Xuejiao Wu Yongping Shen Wei Zhang Yinping Long |
| author_facet | Xuejiao Wu Yongping Shen Wei Zhang Yinping Long |
| author_sort | Xuejiao Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With snow cover changing worldwide in several worrisome ways, it is imperative to determine both the variability in snow cover in greater detail and its relationship with ongoing climate change. Here, we used the satellite-based snow cover extent (SCE) dataset of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to detect SCE variability and its linkages to climate over the 1967–2018 periods across the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Interannually, the time series of SCE across the NH reveal a substantial decline in both spring and summer (−0.54 and −0.71 million km<sup>2</sup>/decade, respectively), and this decreasing trend corresponded with rising spring and summer temperatures over high-latitude NH regions. Among the four seasons, the temperature rise over the NH was the highest in winter (0.39 °C/decade, <i>p</i> < 0.01). More precipitation in winter was closely related to an increase of winter SCE in mid-latitude areas of NH. Summer precipitation over the NH increased at a significant rate (1.1 mm/decade, <i>p</i> < 0.01), which likely contribute to the accelerated reduction of summer’s SCE across the NH. However, seasonal sensitivity of SCE to temperature changes differed between the Eurasian and North American continents. Thus, this study provides a better understanding of seasonal SCE variability and climatic changes that occurred at regional and hemispheric spatial scales in the past 52 years. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:37:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c45a76a7b6e3492aa30022f230637084 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:37:51Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-c45a76a7b6e3492aa30022f2306370842023-11-20T06:08:13ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-07-0111772810.3390/atmos11070728Fast Warming Has Accelerated Snow Cover Loss during Spring and Summer across the Northern Hemisphere over the Past 52 Years (1967–2018)Xuejiao Wu0Yongping Shen1Wei Zhang2Yinping Long3State Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Sciences, Altai Kuwei Snow Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Sciences, Altai Kuwei Snow Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Sciences, Altai Kuwei Snow Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaCollege of Environmental and Resource Science, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, ChinaWith snow cover changing worldwide in several worrisome ways, it is imperative to determine both the variability in snow cover in greater detail and its relationship with ongoing climate change. Here, we used the satellite-based snow cover extent (SCE) dataset of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to detect SCE variability and its linkages to climate over the 1967–2018 periods across the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Interannually, the time series of SCE across the NH reveal a substantial decline in both spring and summer (−0.54 and −0.71 million km<sup>2</sup>/decade, respectively), and this decreasing trend corresponded with rising spring and summer temperatures over high-latitude NH regions. Among the four seasons, the temperature rise over the NH was the highest in winter (0.39 °C/decade, <i>p</i> < 0.01). More precipitation in winter was closely related to an increase of winter SCE in mid-latitude areas of NH. Summer precipitation over the NH increased at a significant rate (1.1 mm/decade, <i>p</i> < 0.01), which likely contribute to the accelerated reduction of summer’s SCE across the NH. However, seasonal sensitivity of SCE to temperature changes differed between the Eurasian and North American continents. Thus, this study provides a better understanding of seasonal SCE variability and climatic changes that occurred at regional and hemispheric spatial scales in the past 52 years.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/7/728precipitationtemperaturenorthern hemispheresnow coverseasonal spatial-temporal distribution |
| spellingShingle | Xuejiao Wu Yongping Shen Wei Zhang Yinping Long Fast Warming Has Accelerated Snow Cover Loss during Spring and Summer across the Northern Hemisphere over the Past 52 Years (1967–2018) Atmosphere precipitation temperature northern hemisphere snow cover seasonal spatial-temporal distribution |
| title | Fast Warming Has Accelerated Snow Cover Loss during Spring and Summer across the Northern Hemisphere over the Past 52 Years (1967–2018) |
| title_full | Fast Warming Has Accelerated Snow Cover Loss during Spring and Summer across the Northern Hemisphere over the Past 52 Years (1967–2018) |
| title_fullStr | Fast Warming Has Accelerated Snow Cover Loss during Spring and Summer across the Northern Hemisphere over the Past 52 Years (1967–2018) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fast Warming Has Accelerated Snow Cover Loss during Spring and Summer across the Northern Hemisphere over the Past 52 Years (1967–2018) |
| title_short | Fast Warming Has Accelerated Snow Cover Loss during Spring and Summer across the Northern Hemisphere over the Past 52 Years (1967–2018) |
| title_sort | fast warming has accelerated snow cover loss during spring and summer across the northern hemisphere over the past 52 years 1967 2018 |
| topic | precipitation temperature northern hemisphere snow cover seasonal spatial-temporal distribution |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/7/728 |
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