Quantifying the early snowmelt event of 2015 in the Cascade Mountains,USA by developing and validating MODIS-based snowmelt timing maps

作     者：Donal O'LEARY III Dorothy HALL Michael MEDLER Aquila FLOWER 

作者机构：University of MarylandDepartment of Geographical SciencesCollege ParkMD 20740USA Westem Washington UniversityDepartment of Environmental StudiesBellinghamWA 98225USA National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationGoddard Space Flight CenterGreenbeltMD 20771USA Earth System Science Interdisciplinary CenterUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkMD 20740USA 

出 版 物：《Frontiers of Earth Science》 (地球科学前沿（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2018年第12卷第4期

页      面：693-710页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 

基　　金：supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Co-author Hall was funded through NASA 

主　　题：Cascade Mountains snowmelt spring phenology MODIS remote sensing 

摘      要：Spring snowmelt serves as the major hydrological contribution to many watersheds of the US West. Since the 1970s the conterminous western USA has seen an earlier arrival of spring snowmelt. The extremely low snowpack and early melt of 2015 in the Cascade Mountains may be a harbinger of winters to come, underscoring the interest in advancements in spring snowmelt monitoring. Target-of-opportunity and point measurements of snowmelt using meteorological stations or stream gauges are common sources of these data, however, there have been few attempts to identify snowmelt timing using remote sensing. In this study, we describe the creation of snowmelt timing maps (STMs) which identify the day of year that each pixel of a remotely sensed image transitions from “snow-covered to “no snow during the spring melt season, controlling for cloud coverage and ephemeral spring snow storms. Derived from the 500 m MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) standard snow map, MOD10A2, this new dataset provides annual maps of snowmelt timing, with corresponding maps of cloud interference and interannual variability in snow coverage from 2001-2015. We first show that the STMs agree strongly with in-situ snow telemetry (SNOTEL) meteorological station measurements in terms of snowmelt timing. We then use the STMs to investigate the early snowmelt event of 2015 in the Cascade Mountains, USA, highlighting the protected areas of Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake, and Lassen Volcanic National Parks. In 2015 the Cascade Mountains experienced snowmelt 41 days earlier than the 2001-2015 average, with 25% of its land area melting65 days earlier than average. The upper elevations of the Cascade Mountains experienced the greatest snowmelt anomaly. Our results are relevant to land managers and biologists as they plan adaptation strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change throughout temperate mountains.