Wu et al. (2025) Spatiotemporal variation and propagation process of snow drought over the Tibetan Plateau

Identification

• Journal: Atmospheric Research
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-17
• Authors: Di Wu, Zeyong Hu
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108623

Research Groups

• School of Geographical Sciences, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China
• Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
• Nagqu Plateau Climate and Environment Observation and Research Station of Tibet Autonomous Region, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nagqu 852000, China

Short Summary

This study systematically investigates the spatiotemporal variations of snow drought (SD) and its propagation to soil-moisture drought (SMD) on the Tibetan Plateau, revealing the dominant SD types, their trends under climate change, and the varying propagation times.

Objective

• To reveal the spatiotemporal variations of snow drought (SD) and its propagation process to soil-moisture drought (SMD) on the Tibetan Plateau.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Tibetan Plateau (TP)
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly stated for the primary analysis, but historical trends and propagation times (3.6 to 5.2 months) are analyzed.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: High-dimensional vine copula-based method, various standardized indices.
• Data sources: Not explicitly stated for the raw input data (e.g., snow water equivalent, precipitation, temperature), but standardized indices were used to characterize snow drought and soil-moisture drought.

Main Results

• Warm and dry snow drought (WDSD) accounted for the highest proportion (40.29 %) of SD on the TP, while warm snow drought (WSD) accounted for the lowest (19.04 %).
• Annual and winter precipitation regulated the spatial distribution of SD characteristics.
• Dry snow drought (DSD) showed a significant decreasing trend, while WSD and WDSD showed increasing trends, primarily driven by an overall rise in air temperature on the TP.
• The average propagation time from SD to SMD varied from 3.6 to 5.2 months, depending on the SD type.
• Climate change on the TP has intensified the DSD propagation process and weakened the WSD propagation process.

Contributions

• Provides the first systematic research on snow drought (SD) and its propagation to soil-moisture drought (SMD) on the Tibetan Plateau.
• Quantifies the proportions of different SD types (DSD, WSD, WDSD) and their spatiotemporal trends under climate change on the TP.
• Reveals the average propagation times from different SD types to SMD and how climate change impacts these propagation processes.
• Offers important implications for drought mitigation strategies in high-altitude cold regions under future warming scenarios.

Funding

• Not explicitly stated in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Wu2025Spatiotemporal,
  author = {Wu, Di and Hu, Zeyong},
  title = {Spatiotemporal variation and propagation process of snow drought over the Tibetan Plateau},
  journal = {Atmospheric Research},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108623},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108623}
}