Role of atmospheric circulation with respect to the interannual variability in the date of snow cover disappearance over northern latitudes between 1988 and 2003

Vicente‐Serrano, Sergio M.; Grippa, Manuela; Toan, Thuy Le; Mognard, N. M.

doi:10.1029/2005jd006571

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 130 publications

(188 reference statements)

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“…Conclusive evidence has been found to show that these changes are most pronounced at higher elevations, where the shifts in both onset and end dates of snow cover towards later and earlier dates, respectively, have also been observed. Several authors have linked these changes to an increasing trend in air temperature (Vicente‐Serrano et al , ; Choi et al , ; Brown and Robinson, ; Betts et al , ). They show that higher temperatures in November would delay the snow fall in autumn and higher temperatures during March–April would produce an earlier snowmelt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Driving role of snow cover on soil moisture and drought development during the growing season in the Czech Republic

Potopová

Boroneanţ²,

Možný

et al. 2015

Int. J. Climatol.

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This study presents a detailed analysis on the role of snow cover during the cold season (October-March) on soil moisture deficit and drought development during the growing season (April-September) in the lowland and highland sites in the Czech Republic. Besides daily, weekly and seasonal series of basic snow-cover characteristics [the first day and the last day of snow cover, the number of days with snow cover (DSC), snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE)] and soil water content measurements, six drought indices have been used in this study to quantify drought. Accumulations of years with significantly below average DSC/SWE were recorded in the early 1960s, mid-1980s, late 1990s and most of the 2000s. The trend towards an earlier end date of snow cover is found in both lowland and highland sites. However, the most significant shift in the dates of early end of snow cover has been identified to occur mostly in the hilly areas while in the lowland areas, these changes are not that evident. Liquid precipitation more than solid precipitation (snowfall) during the cold season lead to weakening correlation between SWE/DSC and the subsequent early summer (April-May-June, AMJ) soil moisture. Snow-cover characteristics can significantly influence soil water saturation during the first part of the growing season, while seasonal amount of SWE can explain up to 45% of soil moisture variability during AMJ season. More than 52% of dry AMJ followed after cold seasons with poor snow, and 42% of wet AMJ season followed after cold seasons with abundant snow. The strength of correlation between drought indices and soil moisture anomalies is higher in later summer. The negative anomalous snow characteristics in conjunction with winter and AMJ drought amplify lingering impact on the depletion of soil moisture in the later summer.KEY WORDS anomalous snow seasons; snow-cover depth; snow water equivalent; snow phenology; soil moisture; drought indices (SPI, SPEI, PDSI, scPDSI, Z-index, scZ-index)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Driving role of snow cover on soil moisture and drought development during the growing season in the Czech Republic

Potopová

Boroneanţ²,

Možný

et al. 2015

Int. J. Climatol.

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“…Second, warm summer temperatures could accelerate development of early larval stages, reducing generation time from a two-year to one-year life cycle and increasing the number of mature beetles in any single year (Werner and Holsten 1985). Third, one to a few years of warm-phase ENSO during extended periods of cool-phase PDO interactions could extend the snow-free season through earlier snowmelt dates (Vincente-Serrano et al 2007), both facilitating earlier emergence and dispersal of beetles in the spring (Werner and Holsten 1985), and reducing soil moisture, thereby enhancing drought stress and the susceptibility of trees to beetle attack (Hard 1987, Barber et al 2000. In south-central Alaska, late-spring conditions are conducive for spruce beetle attack because the already depleted photosynthates required for production of defensive compounds are being put toward tree growth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(1) a tree ring record (MT index;1769-2003 (PDO index;1790-1979[D'Arrigo et al 2001) that reflects a measure of the variability in the dominant decadal mode of North Pacific average summer (April-August) SSTs (Mantua et al 1997). The ENSO index includes ENSO-sensitive tree ring records from subtropical North America calibrated on Niño-3 Pacific SSTs and accounts for 79% of variance in the instrumental record (1950( -1978).…”

Section: Spruce Beetle Outbreaks and Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

Climate variability and spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks in south-central and southwest Alaska

Sherriff

Berg

Miller

2011

Ecology

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We used tree ring data (AD 1601-2007) to examine the occurrence of and climatic influences on spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks in south-central and southwest Alaska and found evidence of regional-scale outbreaks dating from the mid-1700s, related to climate variability at multiple temporal scales. Over interannual time scales (approximately 1-3 years), El Niño years, combined with severe late-summer drought, appeared to contribute significantly to spruce beetle outbreaks in the study area. Over multidecadal time scales (up to approximately 40 years), cool-phase Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) conditions tended to precede beetle outbreaks, regardless of the phase of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). All sites showed low-severity disturbances attributed to spruce beetle damage, most notably during the 1810s. During other major periods of disturbance (i.e., 1870s, 1910s, 1970s), the effects of spruce beetle outbreaks were of moderate or higher severity. The highly synchronized timing of spruce beetle outbreaks at interannual to multidecadal scales, and particularly the association between cool-phase PDO conditions and beetle disturbance, suggests that climate (i.e., temperature, precipitation) is a primary driver of outbreaks in the study area. Our disturbance chronologies (mid-1700s to present) suggest that recent irruptions (1990s to present) in south-central and southwest Alaska are within the historical geographic range, but that outbreaks since the 1990s show greater spatiotemporal synchrony (i.e., more sites record high-severity infestations) than at any other time in the past approximatly 250 years.

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“…Based on satellite‐derived global snow cover data on weekly timescales, Bamzai [2003] showed that when the AO is anomalously high (low), continental‐scale snow extent anomalies are negative (positive). Recently, Vicente‐Serrano et al [2007] found that the variability in the date of snow cover disappearance was significantly related to the AO in western Siberia. In summary, models and instrumental data indicate a close link between the AO and snow at interannual to interdecadal timescales.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snow anomaly events from historical documents in eastern China during the past two millennia and implication for low‐frequency variability of AO/NAO and PDO

Chu¹,

Sun²,

Wang³

et al. 2008

Geophysical Research Letters

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Models and instrumental data indicate that the spatial and temporal variations of snow cover are significantly related to atmospheric circulation (e.g. the AO/NAO). Here, we present historical snow anomaly events during the past two millennia that provide a unique temporal window to studying long‐term AO/NAO, a prominent phenomenon in wintertime. Direct descriptions such as “no snow during the winter” and “pray God for snow” are interpreted as convincing evidence for snow anomalies. The variations of positive/negative snow abnormal events show clear decadal to century variations during the past two millennia. Based on the previous instrumental research and comparison with other reconstruction data, we suggest the Index of Abnormal Snow (IAS) may be an AO‐like atmospheric variability. The winter during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) (AD 900–1300) might be strongly influenced by a predominantly positive AO with less snow condition, whereas the Little Ice Age (LIA) (AD 1300–1900) by negative AO concomitant with heavier snowfalls in East Asia. Our data show that a warm climate period (the MWP)/a cold period (the LIA) can be perturbed by a cold spell/a warm spell which are linked with a change in atmospheric circulation. Low‐frequency variability of snow records may be intrinsic to the natural climate system. Although the dynamic mechanisms linking snow anomalies with atmospheric circulation (the AO/NAO, the PDO) is unclear on the decadal to century time scales, Pacific Ocean may play an important role in regulating atmospheric circulations since the IAS is highly correlated with the reconstruction of PDO.

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Role of atmospheric circulation with respect to the interannual variability in the date of snow cover disappearance over northern latitudes between 1988 and 2003

Cited by 15 publications

References 130 publications

Driving role of snow cover on soil moisture and drought development during the growing season in the Czech Republic

Driving role of snow cover on soil moisture and drought development during the growing season in the Czech Republic

Climate variability and spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks in south-central and southwest Alaska

Snow anomaly events from historical documents in eastern China during the past two millennia and implication for low‐frequency variability of AO/NAO and PDO

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