Spatiotemporal Variations in Snow Cover and Hydrological Effects in the Upstream Region of the Shule River Catchment, Northwestern China

Precipitation and snow/ice melt water are the primary sources in inland river basins arid areas, these sensitive to global climate change. A dataset of snow cover upstream region Shule River catchment was established using MOD10A2 data from 2000 2019, spatiotemporal variations its meteorological, runoff, topographic impacts were analyzed. The results show that spatial distribution is highly uneven owing altitude differences. spring autumn mainly concentrated along edges region, whereas winter summer distributed south. Notable differences accumulation melting observed at different altitudes, annual variation extent shows bimodal characteristics. correlation between runoff most significant April. effectively replenishes higher altitudes (3300–4900 m), but this contribution weakens with increasing (>4900 m). regions a high frequency mostly altitudes. Regions slopes <30° strong frequency, which decreases for >45°. slope aspect symmetrical changes.