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Relationships between Satellite-derived Snow Cover Extent in the Northern Hemisphere and Surface Air Temperature

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Abstract

The relationship between intraannual and interannual variations in the snow cover extent in the Northern Hemisphere, including Eurasia and North America and changes in surface air temperature was quantitatively estimated using satellite and reanalysis data for the period of 1979–2020. The estimates of the parameters of the snow cover extent sensitivity to temperature changes for the last four decades were compared with the estimates for the recent years (since 2005). The results of the correlation and cross-wavelet analysis indicate a general significant coherence and negative correlation between surface air temperature and the snow cover extent both for the entire Northern Hemisphere and separately for Eurasia and North America not only in the annual cycle but also in interannual variability for most months. Also, there is a positive correlation between the snow cover extent and surface air temperature in interannual variability, in particular, during the snow cover formation in the autumn months. It was found that the negative correlation between the snow cover extent and surface air temperature in Eurasia and North America for the recent years is higher than for the last four decades for most months except for the summer ones. The results indicate a weak coherence of interannual variations in the snow cover extent in Eurasia and North America, which is associated with the corresponding low coherence of interannual variations in surface air temperature for Eurasia and North America as a whole.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119017, Moscow, Russia

    I. I. Mokhov & M. R. Parfenova

  2. Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    I. I. Mokhov

Authors
  1. I. I. Mokhov
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  2. M. R. Parfenova
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Correspondence to I. I. Mokhov.

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Translated from Meteorologiya i Gidrologiya, 2022, No. 2, pp. 32-44. https://doi.org/10.52002/0130-2906-2022-2-32-44.

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Mokhov, I.I., Parfenova, M.R. Relationships between Satellite-derived Snow Cover Extent in the Northern Hemisphere and Surface Air Temperature. Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol. 47, 98–106 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373922020030

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