Analysis of Seasonal Snow Cover Changes in the Himalayan Region and the Associated Temperature Variability

It has been noted that the Himalaya region and surrounding Tibetan Plateau are sensitive to climate change, due to their high altitude and large terrain. With the rising temperature recently glaciers has been facing fast-paced melting causing more lakes to expand and flood, yet it can cause the water source to deplete in the long term which pose a risk for high population in many countries. In this work we analyzed the snow cover change over the Tibetan Plateau area using MODIS snow cover products, to shed light on the characteristic of the snow cover distribution, and the relationship of snow cover change and temperature variability. Using monthly and 8-days snow cover data in association with temperature data over the Tibet plateau during 2003-2011, we observed a seasonal component. Seasonal (spring, summer, fall and winter) average snow cover maps showed a very uneven snow cover distribution over the Tibet Plateau. It mainly concentrated in the plateau south-eastern and western high mountain ridge, showing patch shape distribution. On the other hand Western Karakoram Mountains, the southern Himalayas and southeast Nyainqentanglha Mountains are snow cover areas of high values. The northern part of the Kunlun Mountains and Qaidam Basin, the distribution of snow is relatively less. The results show the seasonal change of snow over varies obviously, the minimum values are in summer, and the maximum values of snow cover are in spring and/or winter. It was found that the seasonal average temperature in the Tibetan Plateau from 2003 to 2011 varied evidently. The summer in 2006 had the highest temperature 14.02494°C and the lowest seasonal temperature was in 2003 winter -5.53981°C. The correlation coefficient between the monthly air temperature data from 2003 to 2011 with the same period of the Tibet plateau snow cover area is -0.7349. The results indicate that in the winter and spring, the snow cover area of the Tibet plateau and the temperature has negative correlation and it is not a simple linear relationship. Correlation coefficients of seasonal snow cover area and temperature change over Tibetan Plateau area during same time shows an inverse relationship.