Li et al. (2026) Comprehensive assessment of six snow depth products and trends across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Climate
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-07
• Authors: Zhaoxing Li, Dong Jiang, Jianhua Wang, G. L. Lin, Zhuang Liu
• DOI: 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0263.1

Research Groups

Not specified in the abstract.

Short Summary

This study comprehensively evaluated six snow depth products over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) to assess their ability to capture snow cover and depth. It found that the High Mountain Asia (HMA) product performed best, and revealed a general decreasing trend in snow depth and snow cover duration across the QTP from 1980 to 2023, with significant regional heterogeneity.

Objective

• To comprehensively evaluate six snow depth products for their ability to capture snow cover occurrence and detect snow depth across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP).
• Temporal Scale: 1980–2023 for trend analysis; warm season (May–September) and cold season (October–April) for product performance evaluation.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Six snow depth products were evaluated, including the High Mountain Asia product (HMA) and Che’s daily snow depth product, along with four other unnamed products.
• Data sources: The six snow depth products themselves served as the primary data for evaluation and trend analysis.

Main Results

• The High Mountain Asia product (HMA) demonstrated the best comprehensive performance among the evaluated products.
• Che’s daily snow depth product ranked second in overall comprehensive performance.
• All products showed high performance in the eastern and southern regions of the QTP, particularly in humid areas.
• Most products performed better during the warm season (May–September) compared to the cold season (October–April).
• Snow depth in the QTP showed a decreasing trend from 1980–2023, with maximum and average magnitudes of −0.0007 meters per decade and −0.0014 meters per decade, respectively.
• Some central and surrounding mountainous areas exhibited opposite increasing trends in snow depth.
• The average snow cover duration (SCD) decreased by −0.32 days per decade, but showed an increasing trend in temperate arid and semi-arid plateau regions.
• A general trend of later snow cover onset and earlier snowmelt was observed across most of the QTP, while the temperate arid plateau region displayed the opposite pattern.

Contributions

• Provides a practical basis for selecting appropriate snow depth products for research and monitoring over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
• Highlights the heterogeneous response of the plateau's snowpack to climate change, emphasizing regional variations in snow depth and snow cover duration trends.

Funding

Not specified in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Li2026Comprehensive,
  author = {Li, Zhaoxing and Jiang, Dong and Wang, Jianhua and Lin, G. L. and Liu, Zhuang},
  title = {Comprehensive assessment of six snow depth products and trends across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau},
  journal = {Journal of Climate},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1175/jcli-d-25-0263.1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-25-0263.1}
}