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This study combined MODIS imagery with meteorological observations to investigate the variation of annual SCFs in the Qilian Mountains. Results indicated that more than 80% of annual SCF is distributed at high elevations and mostly on northern slopes, and that SCF is greater in the west than in the east. Abrupt change in the increase in annual SCF was not detected; however, significant (0.05 confidence level) variation with quasi-3-year and quasi-5-year periods indicated potential connection with monsoons. Topographically, SCF increased at high elevations and decreased in valleys. Moreover, SCF increased significantly with a rise in slope below 23\u00b0 and then decreased between 23\u00b0 and 45\u00b0, and it decreased with a change in aspect from 70\u00b0 to 200\u00b0 and then increased from 200\u00b0 to 310\u00b0. Annual SCF variation in the Qilian Mountains is dominated by precipitation rather than by temperature. In the years with high SCFs, southeasterly winds associated with an anticyclone over southeastern China and southwesterly winds associated with the cyclone over the Iranian Plateau brought warm moisture across northwestern China, favoring snowfall in the Qilian Mountains. Meanwhile, cold moisture outbreaks from the Arctic into the mid-latitudes are conducive to maintaining snow cover. However, in the years with low SCFs, the cold air might be difficultly transporting out of the Arctic region due to the strengthening polar vortex. Moreover, the water vapor was less than that of the mean state and divergence over the Qilian Mountains, which difficultly conduced snowfall over the Qilian Mountains.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14122823","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,12]],"date-time":"2022-06-12T23:55:24Z","timestamp":1655078124000},"page":"2823","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Spatiotemporal Variation of Snow Cover Frequency in the Qilian Mountains (Northwestern China) during 2000\u20132020 and Associated Circulation Mechanisms"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Wentao","family":"Du","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Qilian Shan Station of Glaciology and Eco-Environment, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou 730000, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2115-9005","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shichang","family":"Kang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qilian Shan Station of Glaciology and Eco-Environment, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou 730000, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}]},{"given":"Libing","family":"Qian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"South China Sea Marine Survey and Technology Center, State Oceanic Administration (SOA), Guangzhou 510300, China"}]},{"given":"Youyan","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Lanzhou Regional Climate Center, Lanzhou 730020, China"}]},{"given":"Wenxuan","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qilian Shan Station of Glaciology and Eco-Environment, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou 730000, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}]},{"given":"Jizu","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qilian Shan Station of Glaciology and Eco-Environment, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou 730000, China"}]},{"given":"Zhilong","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhangye Meteorological Service, Zhangye 734000, China"}]},{"given":"Weijun","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China"}]},{"given":"Xiang","family":"Qin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qilian Shan Station of Glaciology and Eco-Environment, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou 730000, China"},{"name":"University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China"}]},{"given":"Xian","family":"Chai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1474","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0450(1999)038<1474:IASDSA>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Interrelationships among snow distribution, snowmelt, and snow cover depletion: Implications for atmospheric, hydrologic, and ecologic modeling","volume":"38","author":"Liston","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. 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