The Influence of Local Climatic Factors and Water Vapor Transport from North Atlantic Ocean on Winter Snow-Cover Variation on Western Kunlun Mountains and Eastern Pamir Plateau

Winter snow cover days (SCD) have significantly increased at a rate of 4.75 days per decade on the Western Kunlun Mountains and Eastern Pamir Plateau (KMPP), contrasting with a decline on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This counterintuitive trend is driven primarily by rising precipitation—over 97% of the increase in SCD—rather than temperature changes, which remain negligible. Unlike the TP, where both warming temperatures and reduced precipitation contribute to shrinking snow cover, the KMPP’s unique pattern stems from increased moisture transport linked to warming sea surface temperatures (SST) in the northern North Atlantic Ocean. Remote sensing data, ERA5 reanalysis, and the FLEXPART model reveal that enhanced water vapor transport from this region explains the abnormal SCD increase, offering insights into the 'Western Kunlun Mountains Oddity' in glacial change.

Xue, X., Xu, X., Ren, G., Sun, X., & Zhang, P. (2024). The Influence of Local Climatic Factors and Water Vapor Transport from North Atlantic Ocean on Winter Snow-Cover Variation on Western Kunlun Mountains and Eastern Pamir Plateau. Remote Sensing, 16(23), 4368. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16234368