Impacts of topographic factors on regional snow cover characteristics

Abstract At a local scale, snow cover is influenced by terrain properties, and it affects water availability across some arid and semiarid regions. This study aimed to quantify the spatial heterogeneity of snow cover due to topographic effects based on moderate-resolution image spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow cover products, processed with spatial and backward temporal filters. A snow-dominant region in the middle section of the northern Tianshan Mountains in China was selected, and the snow cover ratio (SCR) and the number of snow cover days (SCD) were investigated. The results suggest that MODIS images are biased toward underestimation of the snow cover in the study region, and the error is primarily manifested within the elevation band of 1 500–2 500 m. The snow cover is mainly affected by elevation, and snow mostly accumulates above 3 800 m. In addition, the differences in SCR and SCD between the south- and north-facing slopes are more significant than those between the east- and west-facing slopes. Notably, the north-facing slopes have the maximum values of SCR and SCD, whereas the south-facing slopes have the minimum values of SCR and SCD. Furthermore, the impact of slope gradients on snow cover varies across seasons. Snow cover on a sloped surface decreases with the slope gradient during winter, while it tends to increase with the slope gradient during other seasons. Overall, this study presents a useful perspective on the variance in regional snow cover and provides guidance for the water resources management of snow meltwater with different terrain features.