Response of snowmelt over the Mongolian Plateau to air temperature
Received date: 2025-03-17
Revised date: 2025-05-09
Online published: 2025-07-07
Using MODIS snow product data, this study investigates the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of the snowmelt period over the Mongolian Plateau during the 2003-2022 hydrological years. The movement of the snowmelt line toward higher latitudes and its response to air temperature are tracked and analyzed at 15-day intervals. The results show that: (1) The proportion of snow-covered area to the total area of the Mongolian Plateau during the 2003-2022 hydrological years ranged from 55.59% to 87.61%, with the smallest snow cover in 2018 and the largest in 2009. Additionally, over the past 20 years, the snowmelt start time on the Mongolian Plateau exhibited a significant advancing trend at a rate of 0.18 days per decade (P<0.05), while the stable snow-cover area showed a delaying trend. (2) Spatially, snowmelt occurred significantly later in northern regions of the Mongolian Plateau compared to southern regions. Stable snow-cover areas were primarily concentrated in the western Mongolia and northeastern Inner Mongolia, where snowmelt times were generally later. Approximately 64.9% of these areas showed an advancing trend in snowmelt, while regions with delaying trends were mainly distributed in the northwestern part of the study area. (3) Observational analysis at half-monthly scales from January during the winter season revealed that the movement of the snowmelt line demonstrated successive synchronicity with the -5 ℃ and 0 ℃ isotherms. Correlation coefficients between snowmelt line positions and temperature, except for the year 2018 (with the least snow cover), generally fell within the higher range of 0.72 to 0.98, indicating that temperature is a key factor influencing the position of the snowmelt line.
Key words： snow end day; snow line; isotherm; temperature response; Mongolian Plateau
NIU Jin , LIU Yahong , Bao Gang , YUAN Zhihui , TONG Siqin , Chao buga . Response of snowmelt over the Mongolian Plateau to air temperature[J]. Arid Zone Research, 2025 , 42(7) : 1184 -1195 . DOI: 10.13866/j.azr.2025.07.03
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