Jiang et al. (2025) Temperature Governs the Elevation Dependency of Snow Cover Changes in the Upper Reaches of the Yarkand River Basin

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Identification

• Journal: Remote Sensing
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-25
• Authors: Xin Jiang, He Chen, Zhiguang Tang, Hui Guo, Gang Deng, Yuanhong You, Haiyan Hou
• DOI: 10.3390/rs18010080

Research Groups

Not explicitly stated in the provided text.

Short Summary

This study investigated the physical mechanisms driving elevation-dependent snow cover changes in the Upper Yarkand River Basin from 2002 to 2020. It revealed a mechanistic shift at approximately 4000 meters, where lower elevations are dominated by temperature-driven snowmelt, while higher elevations are influenced by precipitation-driven snow accumulation.

Objective

• To reveal the underlying physical mechanisms driving the elevation-dependent response of mountain snow cover to climate change.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Upper Yarkand River Basin (U-YRB), northwestern edge of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.
• Temporal Scale: 2002 to 2020 (19 years).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Gradient-Boosted Decision Tree (GBDT) model, process-based degree-day model, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).
• Data sources: Not explicitly stated in the provided text.

Main Results

• Overall Snow Cover Area (SCA) declined at a rate of −0.25% per year, with the decrease accelerating below 4000 meters and slowing above this threshold.
• Snow Depth (SD) decreased below 3500 meters but increased above 4000 meters.
• Temperature was the primary factor reducing SCA across all elevations, with its contribution diminishing at higher elevations.
• Precipitation was identified as the key positive driver for SD accumulation at elevations greater than 4500 meters.
• Snowmelt was the key process governing elevation-dependent patterns, peaking around 4000 meters.
• Below 4000 meters, snow cover loss was primarily driven by temperature's strong positive effect on snowmelt.
• Above 4000 meters, the dominant positive effect of precipitation on snowfall became the key driver of observed SD increase, indicating a shift from melt-dominated to accumulation-influenced dynamics.

Contributions

• Clarified the physical processes behind elevation-dependent snow cover changes, moving beyond statistical correlations.
• Highlighted the necessity of elevation-stratified frameworks for hydrological prediction and water resource management in alpine basins.

Funding

Not explicitly stated in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Jiang2025Temperature,
  author = {Jiang, Xin and Chen, He and Tang, Zhiguang and Guo, Hui and Deng, Gang and You, Yuanhong and Hou, Haiyan},
  title = {Temperature Governs the Elevation Dependency of Snow Cover Changes in the Upper Reaches of the Yarkand River Basin},
  journal = {Remote Sensing},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.3390/rs18010080},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18010080}
}