Diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern Italian Alps
Abstract Snowfall and snow accumulation play a crucial role in shaping ecosystems and human activities in the Alpine region. This resource is under threat as a consequence of the visible effects of global warming, and, therefore, it appears urgent to understand how snowfall trends have changed in ti...
Published in: | International Journal of Climatology |
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crwiley:10.1002/joc.8002 2024-09-15T18:08:09+00:00 Diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern Italian Alps Bertoldi, Giacomo Bozzoli, Michele Crespi, Alice Matiu, Michael Giovannini, Lorenzo Zardi, Dino Majone, Bruno 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.8002 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.8002 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/joc.8002 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.8002 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ International Journal of Climatology volume 43, issue 6, page 2794-2819 ISSN 0899-8418 1097-0088 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8002 2024-08-22T04:15:17Z Abstract Snowfall and snow accumulation play a crucial role in shaping ecosystems and human activities in the Alpine region. This resource is under threat as a consequence of the visible effects of global warming, and, therefore, it appears urgent to understand how snowfall trends have changed in time and space. In this context, we recovered data from over a hundred snowfall (HN) time series covering the period 1980–2020 over the mountain region of Trentino‐South Tyrol in the northeastern Italian Alps and analysed them to understand snowfall climatology in the region, recent trends and their dependence on elevation and timing of the season. Negative, although not always statistically significant, trends were found in the lowest elevation range (0–1,000 m a.s.l.) over the whole winter season, while some positive and even significant trends were found from January to March above 2,000 m a.s.l. The intermediate elevation range (1,000–2,000 m a.s.l.) exhibits a strong variability with no clear trend. Negative and statistically significant trends were found in April for all elevations. An attribution analysis was performed using precipitation (P), mean air temperature (TMEAN), and large‐scale synoptic descriptors, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) indices. The analysis shows that, overall, P is the driver that best explains the snowfall trends, but, for low elevations, especially during mid‐winter, TMEAN is more relevant. Low elevations are facing a clear decrease in HN due to a significant increase in mean temperatures, while high elevations during mid‐winter display a slight increase in HN, associated with a general increase in precipitation. NAO and AO indices exhibit no significant correlations with HN, except at the lowest elevations and at the beginning of the season. Article in Journal/Newspaper Global warming North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Wiley Online Library International Journal of Climatology 43 6 2794 2819 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Snowfall and snow accumulation play a crucial role in shaping ecosystems and human activities in the Alpine region. This resource is under threat as a consequence of the visible effects of global warming, and, therefore, it appears urgent to understand how snowfall trends have changed in time and space. In this context, we recovered data from over a hundred snowfall (HN) time series covering the period 1980–2020 over the mountain region of Trentino‐South Tyrol in the northeastern Italian Alps and analysed them to understand snowfall climatology in the region, recent trends and their dependence on elevation and timing of the season. Negative, although not always statistically significant, trends were found in the lowest elevation range (0–1,000 m a.s.l.) over the whole winter season, while some positive and even significant trends were found from January to March above 2,000 m a.s.l. The intermediate elevation range (1,000–2,000 m a.s.l.) exhibits a strong variability with no clear trend. Negative and statistically significant trends were found in April for all elevations. An attribution analysis was performed using precipitation (P), mean air temperature (TMEAN), and large‐scale synoptic descriptors, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) indices. The analysis shows that, overall, P is the driver that best explains the snowfall trends, but, for low elevations, especially during mid‐winter, TMEAN is more relevant. Low elevations are facing a clear decrease in HN due to a significant increase in mean temperatures, while high elevations during mid‐winter display a slight increase in HN, associated with a general increase in precipitation. NAO and AO indices exhibit no significant correlations with HN, except at the lowest elevations and at the beginning of the season. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bertoldi, Giacomo Bozzoli, Michele Crespi, Alice Matiu, Michael Giovannini, Lorenzo Zardi, Dino Majone, Bruno |
spellingShingle |
Bertoldi, Giacomo Bozzoli, Michele Crespi, Alice Matiu, Michael Giovannini, Lorenzo Zardi, Dino Majone, Bruno Diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern Italian Alps |
author_facet |
Bertoldi, Giacomo Bozzoli, Michele Crespi, Alice Matiu, Michael Giovannini, Lorenzo Zardi, Dino Majone, Bruno |
author_sort |
Bertoldi, Giacomo |
title |
Diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern Italian Alps |
title_short |
Diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern Italian Alps |
title_full |
Diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern Italian Alps |
title_fullStr |
Diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern Italian Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern Italian Alps |
title_sort |
diverging snowfall trends across months and elevation in the northeastern italian alps |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.8002 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.8002 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/joc.8002 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.8002 |
genre |
Global warming North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
Global warming North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
International Journal of Climatology volume 43, issue 6, page 2794-2819 ISSN 0899-8418 1097-0088 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8002 |
container_title |
International Journal of Climatology |
container_volume |
43 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2794 |
op_container_end_page |
2819 |
_version_ |
1810445490406293504 |