Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (9): 1514-1526.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.09.08

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Dynamic snowmelt process and its influencing factors in the eastern farmland region of Hulun Buir

HUANG Kunlin1(), WU Guozhou2, XU Weixin1(), LI Lidong1, WANG Haimei2, LI Hang1, LI Zixiang1, SI Jingke1, LIU Hongbin1, WU Chengna1   

  1. 1. College of Resources and Environment, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, Sichuan, China
    2. Inner Mongolia Ecological and Agricultural Meteorological Center, Hohhot 010051, Inner Mongolia, China
  • Received:2024-02-02 Revised:2024-08-07 Online:2024-09-15 Published:2024-09-25
  • Contact: XU Weixin E-mail:15881019610@163.com;weixin.xu@cuit.edu.cn

Abstract:

The spring snowmelt process is not only a key part of land surface processes and snow hydrology studies but also directly indicates climate, phenology, and their changing characteristics. Due to climatic conditions and limitations in observational data, the snowmelt process and its altering patterns in the snow-covered farmlands of the northern mid-high latitude regions have been long neglected. This paper, based on hourly snow depth data from two automatic snow depth observation stations in the eastern farmland area of Hulunbuir during 2021-2022 and synchronous meteorological observation data such as air and ground temperatures, analyzes the snowmelt process on the underlying surface of the northern agricultural area and the factors influencing it. The results show that: (1) In these areas, the snow cover period generally started in mid-October and ended in early March of the following year, with the snow cover period in 2022 lasting 116 days. The snow depth in autumn and winter was relatively shallow, generally 5-9 cm, and in spring, often exceeded 10 cm. The snowmelt period began in early March, and complete melting took 5-18 days. (2) The annual snowmelt process was characterized by a gradual decrease followed by a rapid melt. The daily snowmelt process started between 9:00 and 10:00 AM, with the maximum melting rate usually occurring between 11:00 AM and 16:00 PM. (3) Air and snow surface temperatures markedly influenced snowmelt, but the correlation between snowmelt and soil temperature was the most significant, with the 0 cm ground surface temperature between 9:00 AM and 17:00 PM being the dominant factor influencing the rate of melting. (4) A comparison of the different types of snowmelt processes suggested that the dynamic snowmelt characteristics in these areas were consistent with those under various cover conditions such as grass and forestlands, indicating that the snowmelt process was mainly influenced by differences in thermal conditions, with little variability in the snowmelt process under various land cover and use types.

Key words: snow, snowmelt characteristics, influencing factors, farmland, Hulun Buir