Understanding the Snow Cover Climatology over Turkey from ERA5-Land Reanalysis Data and MODIS Snow Cover Frequency Product

Understanding the Snow Cover Climatology over Turkey from ERA5-Land Reanalysis Data and MODIS Snow Cover Frequency Product

Understanding the distribution, patterns, and characteristics of snowfall and snow cover within a given region over extended periods is important. Snow climatology provides valuable insights into the seasonal and long-term variations in snowfall, helping researchers and meteorologists understand the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geosciences (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 10; p. 311
Main Authors: Akyurek, Zuhal, Kuter, Semih, Karaman, Çağrı H., Akpınar, Berkay
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-10-2023
Subjects:
Climate change
Climatic changes
Climatology
Datasets
Duration
Earth science
Environmental aspects
Environmental impact
Influence
Land cover
Long-term changes
Melting
Meteorologists
MOD10C1_CGF
MODIS
Precipitation types
Predation
reanalysis data
Satellite imaging
Snow
Snow accumulation
snow climatology
Snow cover
Snow cover variations
Snow depth
snow frequency
Snowfall
Snowmelt
Snowmelt runoff
Temporal variations
Trends
Turkey
Tien Shan Mountains
Northern Hemisphere
Asia
North America
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Summary:Understanding the distribution, patterns, and characteristics of snowfall and snow cover within a given region over extended periods is important. Snow climatology provides valuable insights into the seasonal and long-term variations in snowfall, helping researchers and meteorologists understand the impacts of climate change on snow accumulation, melt rates, and snowmelt runoff. In this study, in order to understand the spatial and temporal variation in snow cover in Turkey, the temporal and spatial dynamics of snow cover in the country were analyzed during the latest and longest period from 1970 to 2022 using ERA5-Land reanalysis product. It is aimed (1) to show snow-covered area (SCA), snow duration, and snow depth trends over the country; (2) to examine the altitudinal difference of snow phenology response to climate change; and (3) to evaluate the Snow Cover Frequency Maps from MODIS Snow Cover Products with the reanalysis snow depth data. It is found that the “false snow” mapping problem still exists in the MOD10C1_CGF Snow Cover Frequency maps over Turkey, especially in the melting period. We found that an increasing trend of 0.4 °C/decade and snow duration have a decreasing trend due to the early melting between 1970 and 2022. This trend is even more noticeable at elevations below 2000 m. Another important finding is the decreasing trend in snow duration at altitudes below 500 m, indicating a shift from snow to rain for precipitation types.
ISSN:2076-3263
2076-3263
DOI:10.3390/geosciences13100311