Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019
The European Alps stretch over a range of climate zones which affect the spatial distribution of snow. Previous analyses of station observations of snow were confined to regional analyses. Here, we present an Alpine-wide analysis of snow depth from six Alpine countries – Austria, France, Germany, It...
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Copernicus Publications
2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021 https://doaj.org/article/7add2c83fce24adca8c5dbcec6b79eb9 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7add2c83fce24adca8c5dbcec6b79eb9 2023-05-15T18:32:28+02:00 Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019 M. Matiu A. Crespi G. Bertoldi C. M. Carmagnola C. Marty S. Morin W. Schöner D. Cat Berro G. Chiogna L. De Gregorio S. Kotlarski B. Majone G. Resch S. Terzago M. Valt W. Beozzo P. Cianfarra I. Gouttevin G. Marcolini C. Notarnicola M. Petitta S. C. Scherrer U. Strasser M. Winkler M. Zebisch A. Cicogna R. Cremonini A. Debernardi M. Faletto M. Gaddo L. Giovannini L. Mercalli J.-M. Soubeyroux A. Sušnik A. Trenti S. Urbani V. Weilguni 2021-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021 https://doaj.org/article/7add2c83fce24adca8c5dbcec6b79eb9 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/1343/2021/tc-15-1343-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/7add2c83fce24adca8c5dbcec6b79eb9 The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 1343-1382 (2021) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021 2022-12-31T06:17:23Z The European Alps stretch over a range of climate zones which affect the spatial distribution of snow. Previous analyses of station observations of snow were confined to regional analyses. Here, we present an Alpine-wide analysis of snow depth from six Alpine countries – Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland – including altogether more than 2000 stations of which more than 800 were used for the trend assessment. Using a principal component analysis and k -means clustering, we identified five main modes of variability and five regions which match the climatic forcing zones: north and high Alpine, north-east, north-west, south-east, and south and high Alpine. Linear trends of monthly mean snow depth between 1971 and 2019 showed decreases in snow depth for most stations from November to May. The average trend among all stations for seasonal (November to May) mean snow depth was − 8.4 % per decade, for seasonal maximum snow depth − 5.6 % per decade, and for seasonal snow cover duration − 5.6 % per decade. Stronger and more significant trends were observed for periods and elevations where the transition from snow to snow-free occurs, which is consistent with an enhanced albedo feedback. Additionally, regional trends differed substantially at the same elevation, which challenges the notion of generalizing results from one region to another or to the whole Alps. This study presents an analysis of station snow depth series with the most comprehensive spatial coverage in the European Alps to date. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 15 3 1343 1382 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 M. Matiu A. Crespi G. Bertoldi C. M. Carmagnola C. Marty S. Morin W. Schöner D. Cat Berro G. Chiogna L. De Gregorio S. Kotlarski B. Majone G. Resch S. Terzago M. Valt W. Beozzo P. Cianfarra I. Gouttevin G. Marcolini C. Notarnicola M. Petitta S. C. Scherrer U. Strasser M. Winkler M. Zebisch A. Cicogna R. Cremonini A. Debernardi M. Faletto M. Gaddo L. Giovannini L. Mercalli J.-M. Soubeyroux A. Sušnik A. Trenti S. Urbani V. Weilguni Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019 |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The European Alps stretch over a range of climate zones which affect the spatial distribution of snow. Previous analyses of station observations of snow were confined to regional analyses. Here, we present an Alpine-wide analysis of snow depth from six Alpine countries – Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland – including altogether more than 2000 stations of which more than 800 were used for the trend assessment. Using a principal component analysis and k -means clustering, we identified five main modes of variability and five regions which match the climatic forcing zones: north and high Alpine, north-east, north-west, south-east, and south and high Alpine. Linear trends of monthly mean snow depth between 1971 and 2019 showed decreases in snow depth for most stations from November to May. The average trend among all stations for seasonal (November to May) mean snow depth was − 8.4 % per decade, for seasonal maximum snow depth − 5.6 % per decade, and for seasonal snow cover duration − 5.6 % per decade. Stronger and more significant trends were observed for periods and elevations where the transition from snow to snow-free occurs, which is consistent with an enhanced albedo feedback. Additionally, regional trends differed substantially at the same elevation, which challenges the notion of generalizing results from one region to another or to the whole Alps. This study presents an analysis of station snow depth series with the most comprehensive spatial coverage in the European Alps to date. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Matiu A. Crespi G. Bertoldi C. M. Carmagnola C. Marty S. Morin W. Schöner D. Cat Berro G. Chiogna L. De Gregorio S. Kotlarski B. Majone G. Resch S. Terzago M. Valt W. Beozzo P. Cianfarra I. Gouttevin G. Marcolini C. Notarnicola M. Petitta S. C. Scherrer U. Strasser M. Winkler M. Zebisch A. Cicogna R. Cremonini A. Debernardi M. Faletto M. Gaddo L. Giovannini L. Mercalli J.-M. Soubeyroux A. Sušnik A. Trenti S. Urbani V. Weilguni |
author_facet |
M. Matiu A. Crespi G. Bertoldi C. M. Carmagnola C. Marty S. Morin W. Schöner D. Cat Berro G. Chiogna L. De Gregorio S. Kotlarski B. Majone G. Resch S. Terzago M. Valt W. Beozzo P. Cianfarra I. Gouttevin G. Marcolini C. Notarnicola M. Petitta S. C. Scherrer U. Strasser M. Winkler M. Zebisch A. Cicogna R. Cremonini A. Debernardi M. Faletto M. Gaddo L. Giovannini L. Mercalli J.-M. Soubeyroux A. Sušnik A. Trenti S. Urbani V. Weilguni |
author_sort |
M. Matiu |
title |
Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019 |
title_short |
Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019 |
title_full |
Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019 |
title_fullStr |
Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observed snow depth trends in the European Alps: 1971 to 2019 |
title_sort |
observed snow depth trends in the european alps: 1971 to 2019 |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021 https://doaj.org/article/7add2c83fce24adca8c5dbcec6b79eb9 |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 1343-1382 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/1343/2021/tc-15-1343-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/7add2c83fce24adca8c5dbcec6b79eb9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1343-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1343 |
op_container_end_page |
1382 |
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