{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T22:29:30Z","timestamp":1780352970194,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,17]],"date-time":"2024-04-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1713312000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) program","award":["2019QZKK0105"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019QZKK0105"]}]},{"name":"Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) program","award":["42305047"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["42305047"]}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["2019QZKK0105"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019QZKK0105"]}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["42305047"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["42305047"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The Qinghai\u2013Tibet Plateau is a sensitive area to climate change, and snow cover has an important impact. Due to the high altitude and complex terrain, station observations of snow cover on the plateau are sparse but objective, while satellite data have high resolution but limited accuracy. Therefore, an optimized variational processing method based on daily satellite data from 1989 to 2020 and monthly snow cover day data from stations is used to combine their advantages, and a high-resolution (0.1\u00b0 \u00d7 0.1\u00b0) monthly dataset of snow cover days during 1989\u20132020 is obtained. This study analyzes the spatial and temporal characteristics of snow cover days on the Qinghai\u2013Tibet Plateau over the past 30 years and compares the differences before and after applying the optimized variational processing method. The variational processing method is also used to reanalyze data on temperature and precipitation. This study confirms the objectivity of the processing method and reveals the regional characteristics of snow cover days and their correlation with temperature and precipitation. The data obtained after optimized variational processing provide a more accurate and detailed representation of the spatial and temporal characteristics of snow cover days. The distribution and variation trends of snow cover days on the Qinghai\u2013Tibet Plateau exhibit significant spatial differences. The average number of snow cover days during the snow season is 45.51 d, with 22.74 d in winter. The Qaidam Basin and the southwestern part of the plateau are areas with low snow cover days, while high-altitude mountainous areas have higher values. Overall, there is no significant change in snow cover days during the snow season, but there is a significant decreasing trend of \u22121.50 d\/10 yr in winter. The snow cover days in the plateau\u2019s hinterland and low-altitude areas mainly show a decreasing trend, while high-altitude mountainous areas show an increasing trend. Snow cover days in the western part of the Qinghai\u2013Tibet Plateau are both influenced by temperature and precipitation in winter, while precipitation dominates in the eastern part.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs16081427","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,17]],"date-time":"2024-04-17T10:52:37Z","timestamp":1713351157000},"page":"1427","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["An Optimized Variational Processing Method Based on Satellite-Station Data on Snow Cover Days on the Qinghai\u2013Tibet Plateau"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Xiaoying","family":"Xue","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiangde","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Runze","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenyue","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"9","article-title":"Distribution of snow cover in China","volume":"4","author":"Li","year":"1983","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.3189\/172756408787814690","article-title":"Snow depth derived from passive microwave remote-sensing data in China","volume":"49","author":"Che","year":"2008","journal-title":"Ann. Glaciol."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"301","article-title":"Snow cover of China during the last 40 years: Spatial distribution and interannual variation","volume":"31","author":"Wang","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"516","DOI":"10.1007\/s13280-016-0770-0","article-title":"Changing Arctic snow cover: A review of recent developments and assessment of future needs for observations, modelling, and impacts","volume":"45","author":"Bokhorst","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ambio"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"108","article-title":"Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: A driver and amplifier of the global climatic change III. The effects of the uplift of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau on climatic changes","volume":"32","author":"Pan","year":"1996","journal-title":"J. Lanzhou Univ. (Nat. Sci.)"},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"423","article-title":"Spatiotemporal variation of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau from 1980 to 2020","volume":"45","author":"Huang","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.1038\/nature04141","article-title":"Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions","volume":"438","author":"Barnett","year":"2005","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11287","DOI":"10.5194\/acp-14-11287-2014","article-title":"An important mechanism sustaining the atmospheric \u201cwater tower\u201d over the Tibetan Plateau","volume":"14","author":"Xu","year":"2014","journal-title":"Atmos. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"663","DOI":"10.1038\/nclimate1580","article-title":"Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in Tibetan Plateau and surroundings","volume":"2","author":"Yao","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nat. Clim. Chang."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"44","article-title":"The development of study on the soil freezing-thaw process in land surface model","volume":"17","author":"Wang","year":"2002","journal-title":"Adv. Earth Sci."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149889","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2021.149889","article-title":"Snow cover persistence reverses the altitudinal patterns of warming above and below 5000 m on the Tibetan Plateau","volume":"803","author":"Zhang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"284","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2018.06.021","article-title":"Developing a composite daily snow cover extent record over the Tibetan Plateau from 1981 to 2016 using multisource data","volume":"215","author":"Chen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2043","DOI":"10.1175\/JHM-D-19-0011.1","article-title":"Evaluation and intercomparison of multiple snow water equivalent products over the Tibetan Plateau","volume":"20","author":"Bian","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Hydrometeorol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2780","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0442(2004)017<2780:DCOTSS>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Decadal change of the spring snow depth over the Tibetan Plateau: The associated circulation and influence on the East Asian Summer Monsoon","volume":"17","author":"Zhang","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1926","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.1759","article-title":"Inter-decadal variation of the summer precipitation in china and its association with decreasing Asian summer monsoon part II: Possible causes","volume":"29","author":"Ding","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. J. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"184","article-title":"The role of the anomalous snow cover over the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and ENSO in the great floods of 1998 in the Changjiang River Valley","volume":"25","author":"Chen","year":"2001","journal-title":"Chin. J. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4243","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-06762-5","article-title":"Influence of Tibetan Plateau snow cover on East Asian atmospheric circulation at medium-range time scales","volume":"9","author":"Li","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agrformet.2018.03.004","article-title":"Snow cover phenology affects alpine vegetation growth dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau: Satellite observed evidence, impacts of different biomes, and climate drivers","volume":"256","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Agric. For. Meteorol."},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"946","article-title":"The decadal relationship between atmospheric heat source of winter and spring snow over Tibetan Plateau and rainfall in East China","volume":"65","author":"Zhu","year":"2007","journal-title":"Acta Meteorol. Sin."},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"627","article-title":"Research progress of snow cover and its influence on China climate","volume":"34","author":"Li","year":"2011","journal-title":"Trans. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_21","first-page":"374","article-title":"Characteristics of climate change over the Tibetan Plateau under the global warming during 1979\u20132014","volume":"12","author":"Duan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clim. Chang. Res."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2016.12.028","article-title":"Impact of climate and elevation on snow cover using integrated remote sensing snow products in Tibetan Plateau","volume":"190","author":"Huang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127027","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhydrol.2021.127027","article-title":"Development of a fine-resolution snow depth product based on the snow cover probability for the Tibetan Plateau: Validation and spatial-temporal analyses","volume":"604","author":"Yan","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Hydrol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2006.11.013","article-title":"Enhanced algorithm for estimating snow depth from geostationary satellites","volume":"108","author":"Romanov","year":"2007","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.1007\/s00704-011-0441-9","article-title":"Studying the spatiotemporal variation of snow-covered days over China based on combined use of MODIS snow-covered days and in situ observations","volume":"106","author":"Liu","year":"2011","journal-title":"Theor. Appl. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.46267\/j.1006-8775.2022.008","article-title":"The warming and wetting ecological environment changes over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the driving effect of the Asian Summer Monsoon","volume":"28","author":"Sun","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Trop. Meteorol."},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"703","article-title":"Numerical simulation over the Tibetan Plateau by using variational technique revised TOVS data","volume":"23","author":"Weng","year":"1999","journal-title":"Chin. J. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"12","article-title":"Characteristics of the convection in the meso-scale front of the serious storm rainfall over the Wuhan-Huangshi region during July of 1998 through variational analysis by satellite data","volume":"26","author":"Xu","year":"2002","journal-title":"Chin. J. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_29","first-page":"165","article-title":"Integrated analysis on spatial distribution characteristics of PM10 concentration based upon variational processing method in Beijing","volume":"18","author":"Cheng","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Appl. Meteorol. Sci."},{"key":"ref_30","first-page":"683","article-title":"Integrated analysis on unsymmetrical space distribution characteristics of urban heat island based on variational processing method in Beijing","volume":"12","author":"Cheng","year":"2007","journal-title":"Clim. Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"Zheng, Z., and Chu, D. (2019). Snow Cover Dataset Based on Optical Instrument Remote Sensing with 1 km Spatial Resolution on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (1989\u20132018), National Tibetan Plateau\/Third Pole Environment Data Center. Available online: https:\/\/cstr.cn\/18406.11.Snow.tpdc.270465."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"395","DOI":"10.1080\/07055900.2000.9649654","article-title":"Temperature and precipitation trends in Canada during the 20th century","volume":"38","author":"Zhang","year":"2000","journal-title":"Atmos.-Ocean."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1379","DOI":"10.1080\/01621459.1968.10480934","article-title":"Estimates of the regression coefficient based on Kendall\u2019s tau","volume":"63","author":"Sen","year":"1968","journal-title":"J. Am. Stat. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"Jassby, A.D., and Cloern, J.E. (2023, July 15). wq: Some Tools for Exploring Water Quality Monitoring Data. R Package Version 1.0.0. Available online: https:\/\/cran.r-project.org\/package=wq."},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"1461","article-title":"The variations of snow cover the Tibetan Plateau during 1981\u20132010","volume":"37","author":"Chu","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_36","first-page":"24","article-title":"Spatial-temporal characteristics of snow and influence factors in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from 1961 to 2014","volume":"39","author":"Jiang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Plateau Meteorol."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1521","DOI":"10.1175\/JCLI-D-15-0732.1","article-title":"Spatial-temporal variability of snow cover and depth in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau","volume":"30","author":"Xu","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4609","DOI":"10.1007\/s11434-012-5323-8","article-title":"Temporal and spatial variations of the active layer along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway in a permafrost region","volume":"57","author":"Li","year":"2012","journal-title":"Chin. Sci. Bull."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1169","DOI":"10.1007\/s00376-017-7014-5","article-title":"Formation and variation of the atmospheric heat source over the Tibetan Plateau and its climate effects","volume":"34","author":"Wu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Adv. Atmos. Sci."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3635","DOI":"10.1111\/gcb.12954","article-title":"Temperature and snowfall trigger alpine vegetation green-up on the world\u2019s roof","volume":"21","author":"Chen","year":"2015","journal-title":"Glob. Change Biol."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1096","DOI":"10.1109\/LGRS.2017.2698448","article-title":"Snowmelt pattern over high-mountain asia detected from active and passive microwave remote sensing","volume":"14","author":"Xiong","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114","DOI":"10.1016\/j.atmosres.2008.09.007","article-title":"Black carbon (BC) in the snow of glaciers in west China and its potential effects on albedos","volume":"92","author":"Ming","year":"2009","journal-title":"Atmos. Res."},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"Guo, H. (2021). Snow Phenology and Its Response to Climate in Northeastern China, Lanzhou University. (In Chinese)."},{"key":"ref_44","first-page":"1573","article-title":"Snow phenology variability in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its response to climate change during 2002\u20132012","volume":"18","author":"Wang","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Geo-Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_45","first-page":"1400","article-title":"Spatiotemporal dynamics of snow phenology in the High Mountain Asia and its response to climate change","volume":"43","author":"Tang","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"128438","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhydrol.2022.128438","article-title":"Satellite observed spatiotemporal variability of snow cover and snow phenology over high mountain Asia from 2002 to 2021","volume":"613","author":"Tang","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Hydrol."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"591","DOI":"10.1038\/s41558-021-01074-x","article-title":"Climate change decisive for Asia\u2019s snow meltwater supply","volume":"11","author":"Kraaijenbrink","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. Clim. Chang."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1484","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.6867","article-title":"How well do the ERA-Interim, ERA-5, GLDAS-2.1 and NCEP-R2 reanalysis datasets represent daily air temperature over the Tibetan Plateau?","volume":"41","author":"Liu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, F., Jia, X., and Dong, W. (2024). Changes in spring snow cover over the eastern and western Tibetan Plateau and their associated mechanism. Adv. Atmos. Sci., in press.","DOI":"10.1007\/s00376-023-3111-9"}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/16\/8\/1427\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T14:29:34Z","timestamp":1760106574000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/16\/8\/1427"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,17]]},"references-count":49,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4]]}},"alternative-id":["rs16081427"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs16081427","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,17]]}}}