Temporal series analysis of snow water equivalent of satellite passive microwave data in northern seasonal snow classes (1978-2010)

Abstract

Snow water equivalent have been retrieved from passive microwave instruments for many decades. Current SWE products from NSIDC and GlobSnow are achievements of traditional spectral difference method and newly developed assimilation algorithm combining model estimates with ground-based weather station data. In this paper, validation analysis show that GlobSnow SWE possess less RSM errors in each month and higher stability through the whole winter for all Sturm's snow classes. In term of snow changes, both NSIDC and GlobSnow products mainly shows similar temporal trend. Even although the total snow amount in northern hemisphere decreased from 1978 to 2010, snow mass is increasing in higher latitude and decreasing in lower latitude in the first 9 years, appearing kind of antiphase oscillation between higher and lower latitude; and in the next 15 years, 1988-2002, this phenomenon still exists but gradually disappears. Until resent 8 years, 2003-2010, all kinds of snow in north hemisphere decreased with relatively drastic tendency. © 2013 IEEE.