Abstract
Present study investigates local relationship between surface air temperature and snow water equivalent (SWE) change over mid- and high-latitudes of Eurasia during boreal spring. Positive correlation is generally observed around the periphery of snow covered region, indicative of an effect of snow on surface temperature change. In contrast, negative correlation is usually found over large snow amount area, implying a response of snow change to wind-induced surface temperature anomalies. With the seasonal retreat of snow covered region, region of positive correlation between SWE and surface air temperature shifts northeastward from March to May. A diagnosis of surface heat flux anomalies in April suggests that the snow impact on surface air temperature is dominant in east Europe and west Siberia through modulating surface shortwave radiation. In contrast, atmospheric effect on SWE is important in Siberia and Russia Far East through wind-induced surface sensible heat flux change. Further analysis reveals that atmospheric circulation anomalies in association with snowmelt over east Siberia may be partly attributed to sea surface temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic and the atmospheric circulation anomaly pattern associated with snowmelt over Russia Far East has a close association with the Arctic Oscillation.
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Acknowledgments
This study is supported by National Key Basic Research Program of China Grant (2014CB953902) and National Natural Science Foundation of China Grants (41530425, 41275081 and 41475081). The SWE and snow cover data were obtained by ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/pub/DATASETS. The University of Delaware data were obtained by http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/gridded/. The NCEP-DOE reanalysis variables were obtained by ftp://cdc.noaa.gov/. The NOAA OI version 2 SST data were obtained by http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/. We thank the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the University of Delaware, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, and NOAA/OAR/ESRL Physical Sciences Division for providing data through their web pages.
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Wu, R., Chen, S. Regional change in snow water equivalent–surface air temperature relationship over Eurasia during boreal spring. Clim Dyn 47, 2425–2442 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2972-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2972-8