Publications

Xu, L; Li, YQ (2010). Reexamining the impact of Tibetan snow anomalies to the East Asian summer monsoon using MODIS snow retrieval. CLIMATE DYNAMICS, 35(6), 1039-1053.

Abstract
Based on recent Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer high-resolution snow retrieval data over the Tibetan Plateau, the connection of snow anomalies to the East Asian Summer Monsoon has been reexamined to eliminate the uncertainty of the previous snow mapping in this region. The snow monitoring shows relatively large interannual variations over the Tibetan Plateau during winter and spring. The snow anomalies, however, show relatively short persistence-usually less than 3 months-that is substantial shorter than previous studies. The anomalous snow pack in the spring shows a good correlation to the onset of the East Asian Monsoon but does not show a significant relationship with the intensity of the summer monsoon as suggested by previous studies. The sequential thermal forcing of snow anomalies to the general circulation and monsoon onset over East Asia is further investigated. A positive/negative snow anomalies during spring will change the energy and water exchange at the land surface, suppressing/enhancing the sensible heating over the Tibetan, delaying/accelerating the reversal of the meridional temperature gradient between the Eurasian continent and the tropical ocean and further impact the onset of East Asian monsoon.

DOI:
10.1007/s00382-009-0713-6

ISSN:
0930-7575