Snow cover changes over the Tibetan plateau (TP) are examined using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily fractional snow cover (FSC) data from 2001 to 2011 as well as in situ temperature data. First, the accuracy of the MODIS FSC data under clear sky conditions is evaluated by comparing with Landsat 30-m observations. Then we describe a cloud-gap-filled (CGF) method using...

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A snow-cover mapping method accounting for forests (SnowFrac) is presented. SnowFrac uses spectral unmixing and endmember constraints to estimate the snow-cover fraction of a pixel. The unmixing is based on a linear spectral mixture model, which includes endmembers for snow, coniferous trees, branches of leafless deciduous trees and snow-free ground. Model input consists of a land-cover fractio...

The seasonal snow cover of the Tibetan Plateau exerts a profound environmental influence both regionally and globally. Daily observations of snow depth at 37 meteorological stations in Tibet and MODIS eight-day snow products (MOD10A2) during the period 2001–2015 are analyzed with respect to the frequency and spatial distribution of snow cover for each season and for various altitude ranges. The...

This paper presents the results of snow cover monitoring studies in Liaoning Province, northeastern China, using MODIS data. Snow cover plays an important role in both the regional water balance and soil moisture properties during the early spring in northeastern China. In addition, heavy snowfalls commonly trigger hazards such as flooding, caused by rapid snow melt, or crop failure, resulting ...

Degree-day factors are widely used to estimate snowmelt runoff in operational hydrological models. Usually, they are calibrated on observed runoff, and sometimes on satellite snow cover data. In this paper, we propose a new method for estimating the snowmelt degree-day factor (DDFS) directly from MODIS snow covered area (SCA) and ground-based snow depth data without calibration. Subcatchment sn...

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily snow cover products provide an opportunity for determining snow onset and melt dates across broad geographic regions; however, cloud cover and polar darkness are limiting factors at higher latitudes. This study presents snow onset and melt dates for Alaska, portions of western Canada and the Russian Far East derived from Terra MODIS sn...

geographic information and analysis provide a wide range of data and techniques to monitor and manage natural resources. as an important case, in arid and semi-arid areas, water management is critical for both local governance and citizens. as a result, the estimation of water potential brought by snowmelt runoff and rainfalls seems to be very useful and important for these areas. hydrological ...

We developed an automated approach for mapping persistent ice and snow cover (glaciers and perennial snowfields) from Landsat TM and ETM+ data across a variety of topography, glacier types, and climatic conditions at high latitudes (above ~65 ̋N). Our approach exploits all available Landsat scenes acquired during the late summer (1 August–15 September) over a multi-year period and employs an aut...