Impacts of El Niño and La Niña on interannual snow accumulation in the Andes: Results from a high‐resolution 31 year reanalysis
Abstract We present new insights on extratropical Andean snow climatology (27°S to 37°S) based on the results from a 31 year high‐resolution reanalysis. The snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates were generated by integrating observed snow depletion data from Landsat together with a snow model forced...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2017-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073826 |
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| Summary: | Abstract We present new insights on extratropical Andean snow climatology (27°S to 37°S) based on the results from a 31 year high‐resolution reanalysis. The snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates were generated by integrating observed snow depletion data from Landsat together with a snow model forced by the Modern‐era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications. The spatial resolution (180 m), geographic extent (175,000 km2), and temporal span (1984–2015) constitute an unprecedented data set for the region. SWE reaches annual peak volumes between 13 and 66 km3, with a climatological average of 27.7 km3. A positive correlation between SWE and the Oceanic Niño Index (R2 = 0.35) exists for the region, with a strengthening of the signal from north to south, peaking at 34°S. Although the correlation between El Niño and positive SWE anomalies is significant, La Niña was not found to drive negative anomalies beyond what is observed during non‐La Niña years. |
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| ISSN: | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |