Publications

Hu, LQ; Zhang, LC; Li, S; Li, HJ; Zhang, TW; Hou, XG (2018). REMOTE SENSING-BASED EXTRACTION OF SUMMER SNOWLINE AND ANALYSIS OF ITS VARIATION CHARACTERISTICS IN XINJIANG, CHINA. APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, 16(5), 6281-6298.

Abstract
As a zero-balance line, lying between snow-covered and snow-free land areas, the snowline reflects the melting and retreating of snow and ice, which also mirrors the basic situation of climate and environment on mountain plateaus and in polar regions where there is a lack of ground meteorological stations. Thus, it is important to accurately extract and assess the distribution characteristics of the snow-line from hydrological, climatological, and geological aspects. This study extracted summer snowline data from the Xinjiang region in China using the snow cover duration ratio (SCDR) method with MODIS daily snow cover products (MOD10A1 and MYD10A1), IMS and Landsat data, and temperature and precipitation observations from 2001-2015. The variation and distribution characteristics of the summer snowline elevation were analyzed comparatively for the Xinjiang region and its different subareas. The results showed that snowline elevation data extracted using the SCDR method passed the accuracy test and therefore, it was considered suitable for the Xinjiang region. During 2001-2015, the average snowline elevation remained at about 3950 m within a 250-m range of fluctuation. However, linear trend analysis revealed an annual increasing trend of average snowline elevation with a tendency rate of 160.38 m/decade. The minimum snowline elevation exhibited a fluctuating upward trend, whereas the maximum snowline elevation showed a slight downward trend. Comparative analysis of snowline elevation in different areas of the Xinjiang region revealed a fluctuating upward trend in the Kunlun, Tianshan, and Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains showed the most stable variation of snowline elevation, followed by the Kunlun Mountains and then the Tianshan Mountains Spatially, the distribution of snowline elevation in the Xinjiang region was characterized by a decline from south to north with longitudinal zonation.

DOI:
10.15666/aeer/1605_62816298

ISSN:
1589-1623