{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,2]],"date-time":"2026-01-02T19:49:36Z","timestamp":1767383376509,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,22]],"date-time":"2017-11-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1511308800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>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\u20132015 are analyzed with respect to the frequency and spatial distribution of snow cover for each season and for various altitude ranges. The results show that the average snow cover percentage was 16%. Snow cover frequency was less than 21% for 70% of the Tibetan area, while it was more than 40% in eastern Tibet and in the Himalayas. We also estimated the variations in the starting times of snow accumulation and ablation. During the 15 years, both datasets revealed a significant trend of earlier onset of ablation, but no evident trend for the start of accumulation. The two datasets differed slightly with respect to the seasonal variation of snow cover. MODIS data showed more snow in winter than in other seasons, but the ground data showed most snow in early spring. For the station locations, the correlation between ground and MODIS snow cover percentage (number of snow-covered stations\/number of cloud-free stations) is 0.77. Combining the advantages of remote sensing data and ground observation data is the best way to investigate snow in Tibet.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs9111201","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,22]],"date-time":"2017-11-22T10:47:38Z","timestamp":1511347658000},"page":"1201","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Satellite and Ground Observations of Snow Cover in Tibet during 2001\u20132015"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Droma","family":"Basang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, All\u00e9gaten 70, N-5007 Bergen, Norway"},{"name":"Institute of Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric and Environmental Scientific Research, Lhasa 850000, China"},{"name":"Lhasa Division of the Institute of Plateau Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Chengdu 610072, China"}]},{"given":"Knut","family":"Barthel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, All\u00e9gaten 70, N-5007 Bergen, Norway"}]},{"given":"Jan","family":"Olseth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, All\u00e9gaten 70, N-5007 Bergen, Norway"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Dozier, J. (1989). Prospects and Concerns for Satellite Remote Sensing of Snow and Ice, National Academies."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"49","article-title":"Resources and distribution of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau","volume":"22","author":"Liu","year":"2000","journal-title":"Resour. Sci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.2151\/jmsj1965.70.1B_319","article-title":"Seasonal heating of the Tibetan Plateau and its effects on the evolution of the Asian summer monsoon","volume":"70","author":"Yanai","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, B., Bao, Q., Hoskins, B., Wu, G., and Liu, Y. (2008). Tibetan Plateau warming and precipitation changes in East Asia. Geophys. Res. Lett., 35.","DOI":"10.1029\/2008GL034330"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"593","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.901","article-title":"Responses of China\u2019s summer monsoon climate to snow anomaly over the Tibetan Plateau","volume":"23","author":"Qian","year":"2003","journal-title":"Int. J. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"663","DOI":"10.1657\/1523-0430(07503)[KANG]2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Annual accumulation in the Mt. Nyainqentanglha ice core, Southern Tibetan Plateau, China: Relationships to atmospheric circulation over Asia","volume":"39","author":"Kang","year":"2007","journal-title":"Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1016\/j.palaeo.2006.07.009","article-title":"The elevation history of the Tibetan Plateau and its implications for the Asian monsoon","volume":"241","author":"Harris","year":"2006","journal-title":"Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"770","DOI":"10.1175\/JHM609.1","article-title":"The influence of mechanical and thermal forcing by the Tibetan Plateau on Asian climate","volume":"8","author":"Wu","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Hydrometeorol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lau, W.K., Kim, M.-K., Kim, K.-M., and Lee, W.-S. (2010). Enhanced surface warming and accelerated snow melt in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau induced by absorbing aerosols. Environm. Res. Lett., 5.","DOI":"10.1088\/1748-9326\/5\/2\/025204"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1382","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1183188","article-title":"Climate change will affect the Asian water towers","volume":"328","author":"Immerzeel","year":"2010","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2038","DOI":"10.1175\/1520-0442(2003)016<2038:TRBTTW>2.0.CO;2","article-title":"The relation between the Tibetan winter snow and the Asian summer monsoon and rainfall: An observational investigation","volume":"16","author":"Wu","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1175\/JHM-D-12-012.1","article-title":"Simulation of northern eurasian local snow depth, mass, and density using a detailed snowpack model and meteorological reanalyses","volume":"14","author":"Brun","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Hydrometeorol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3942","DOI":"10.1175\/JCLI4205.1","article-title":"Variability of Tibetan spring snow and its associations with the hemispheric extratropical circulation and east Asian summer monsoon rainfall: An observational investigation","volume":"20","author":"Zhao","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3735","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160500185599","article-title":"The relationship between Tibetan snow depth, enso, river discharge and the monsoons of bangladesh","volume":"26","author":"Shaman","year":"2005","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.3354\/cr00985","article-title":"Observed changes in snow depth and number of snow days in the eastern and central Tibetan Plateau","volume":"46","author":"You","year":"2011","journal-title":"Clim. Res."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.3390\/rs70100169","article-title":"Spatio-temporal change of snow cover and its response to climate over the Tibetan Plateau based on an improved daily cloud-free snow cover product","volume":"7","author":"Wang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"446","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.3697","article-title":"Snow cover variability in the Himalayan\u2013Tibetan region","volume":"34","author":"Singh","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"445","DOI":"10.1007\/s00704-014-1185-0","article-title":"Characteristics of the Tibetan Plateau snow cover variations based on daily data during 1997\u20132011","volume":"120","author":"Shen","year":"2015","journal-title":"Theor. Appl. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"1023","article-title":"Variation of snow cover over the Tibet autonomous region based on multi-source data","volume":"34","author":"Basang","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"260","article-title":"Response of Tibetan snow cover to global warming","volume":"3","author":"Li","year":"1996","journal-title":"Acta Geogr. Sin."},{"key":"ref_21","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_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Flanner, M.G. (2005). Snowpack radiative heating: Influence on Tibetan Plateau climate. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32.","DOI":"10.1029\/2004GL022076"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"859","DOI":"10.1007\/s00382-009-0564-1","article-title":"Using a global climate model to evaluate the influences of water vapor, snow cover and atmospheric aerosol on warming in the Tibetan Plateau during the twenty-first century","volume":"34","author":"Rangwala","year":"2009","journal-title":"Clim. Dynam."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.3724\/SP.J.0000.2010.00076","article-title":"Sensitivity of the number of snow cover days to surface air temperature over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau","volume":"1","author":"Ma","year":"2010","journal-title":"Adv. Clim. Chang. Res."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.3724\/SP.J.1248.2011.00093","article-title":"Assessment of snow cover vulnerability over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau","volume":"2","author":"Ma","year":"2011","journal-title":"Adv. Clim. Chang. Res."},{"key":"ref_26","first-page":"144","article-title":"Spatial temporal variation of snow depth in Tibet and its response to climatic change in the past 30 years","volume":"26","author":"Bai","year":"2014","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Land Resour."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1016\/j.quaint.2016.07.030","article-title":"Characteristics of the ratios of snow, rain and sleet to precipitation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during 1961\u20132014","volume":"444","author":"Zhu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Quat. Int."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pu, Z., Xu, L., and Salomonson, V.V. (2007). MODIS\/terra observed seasonal variations of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau. Geophys. Res. Lett., 34.","DOI":"10.1029\/2007GL029262"},{"key":"ref_29","first-page":"855","article-title":"Analysis of the temporal and spatial variations of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau based on MODIS","volume":"29","author":"Wang","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"769","DOI":"10.1109\/JSTARS.2012.2200654","article-title":"Method for detecting snow lines from MODIS data and assessment of changes in the Nianqingtanglha mountains of the Tibet Plateau","volume":"5","author":"Lei","year":"2012","journal-title":"IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Obs. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_31","first-page":"356","article-title":"Determination of snow cover from MODIS data for the Tibetan Plateau region","volume":"21","author":"Tang","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinform."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang, J., Jiang, L., Shi, J., Wu, F., Wang, S., and Kou, X. (2013, January 21\u201326). Evaluation and comparison of FY-2E vissr, MODIS and ims snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau. Proceedings of the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Melbourne, Australia.","DOI":"10.1109\/IGARSS.2013.6721377"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chu, D., Xie, H., Wang, P., Guo, J., La, J., Qiu, Y., and Zheng, Z. (2014). Snow cover variation over the Tibetan Plateau from MODIS and comparison with ground observations. J. Appl. Remote Sens., 8.","DOI":"10.1117\/1.JRS.8.084690"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tang, Z., Wang, J., Li, H., and Yan, L. (2013). Spatiotemporal changes of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau based on cloud-removed moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer fractional snow cover product from 2001 to 2011. J. Appl. Remote Sens., 7.","DOI":"10.1117\/1.JRS.7.073582"},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"363","article-title":"Estimation of snow water equivalent in the Tibetan Plateau using passive microwave remote sensing data (SSM\/I)","volume":"26","author":"Che","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"Riggs, G.A., Hall, D.K., and Salomonson, V.V. (2016, December 01). MODIS Snow Products User Guide to Collection 5. National Snow and Ice Data Center. Available online: www.nsidc.org\/data\/docs\/daac\/MODIS_v5\/dorothy_snow_doc.pdf."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(03)00097-X","article-title":"Validation of daily MODIS snow cover maps of the upper rio grande river basin for the 2000\u20132001 snow year","volume":"86","author":"Klein","year":"2003","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1497","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2007.05.016","article-title":"Evaluation of MODIS snow cover and cloud mask and its application in northern Xinjiang, China","volume":"112","author":"Wang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"214","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2004.10.007","article-title":"Statistical evaluation of remotely sensed snow-cover products with constraints from streamflow and snotel measurements","volume":"94","author":"Zhou","year":"2005","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_40","first-page":"722","article-title":"Accuracy analysis for MODIS snow products of MOD10A1 and MOD10A2 in northern Xinjiang area","volume":"5","author":"Huang","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_41","first-page":"116","article-title":"A new MODIS daily cloud free snow cover mapping algorithm on the Tibetan Plateau","volume":"6","author":"Huang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sci. Cold Arid Reg."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"341","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2006.07.004","article-title":"Validation of the MODIS snow product and cloud mask using student and nws cooperative station observations in the lower great lakes region","volume":"105","author":"Ault","year":"2006","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1514","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2007.06.001","article-title":"An application of MODIS data to snow cover monitoring in a pastoral area: A case study in northern Xinjiang, china","volume":"112","author":"Liang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"220","DOI":"10.3189\/002214308784886162","article-title":"Performance of ASTER and SRTM DEMs, and their potential for assessing glacial lakes in the Lunana region, Bhutan Himalaya","volume":"54","author":"Fujita","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Glaciol."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8081","DOI":"10.1080\/01431161.2010.532176","article-title":"Accuracy assessment of the ASTER GDEM and SRTM3 DEM: An example in the loess Plateau and north China plain of China","volume":"32","author":"Zhao","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"463","DOI":"10.1007\/s00024-015-1119-5","article-title":"Scenario-based validation of moderate resolution DEMs freely available for complex Himalayan terrain","volume":"173","author":"Singh","year":"2016","journal-title":"Pure Appl. Geophys."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1534","DOI":"10.1002\/hyp.6715","article-title":"Accuracy assessment of the MODIS snow products","volume":"21","author":"Hall","year":"2007","journal-title":"Hydrol. Process."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kim, W., Yeh, S.W., Kim, J.H., Kug, J.S., and Kwon, M. (2011). The unique 2009\u20132010 el ni\u00f1o event: A fast phase transition of warm pool el ni\u00f1o to la ni\u00f1a. Geophys. Res. Lett., 38.","DOI":"10.1029\/2011GL048521"},{"key":"ref_49","unstructured":"Barthel, K., and Olseth, J.A. (2018). Characteristics and trends of snow cover in Tibet During 1980\u20132015, in press."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2481","DOI":"10.1175\/JCLI-D-11-00135.1","article-title":"Modulation of the Tibetan Plateau snow cover on the enso teleconnections: From the east Asian summer monsoon perspective","volume":"25","author":"Wu","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2067","DOI":"10.1175\/JCLI3391.1","article-title":"The effect of enso on Tibetan Plateau snow depth: A stationary wave teleconnection mechanism and implications for the south Asian monsoons","volume":"18","author":"Shaman","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Clim."},{"key":"ref_52","first-page":"1","article-title":"Impact of bay of bengal storms on precipitation over Plateau area","volume":"34","author":"Duan","year":"2015","journal-title":"Plateau Meteorol."},{"key":"ref_53","first-page":"491","article-title":"The causes of the interannual variation of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau","volume":"4","author":"Wei","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Glaciol. Geocryol."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, Y., Liu, X., and Chen, B. (2006). Cloud type climatology over the Tibetan Plateau: A comparison of ISCCP and MODIS\/TERRA measurements with surface observations. Geophys. Res. Lett., 33.","DOI":"10.1029\/2006GL026890"},{"key":"ref_55","unstructured":"Basang, D., Liu, Z., Barthel, K., and Olseth, J.A. (2017). Accuracy assessment of the MODIS10A1 over the Tibetan Plateau and analysis of the potential sources of misclassification. Int. J. Remote Sens., Submitted."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"679","DOI":"10.5194\/hess-10-679-2006","article-title":"Validation of MODIS snow cover images over austria","volume":"10","author":"Parajka","year":"2006","journal-title":"Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci."},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"419","DOI":"10.1002\/hyp.7151","article-title":"Comparison and validation of MODIS standard and new combination of terra and aqua snow cover products in northern Xinjiang, China","volume":"23","author":"Wang","year":"2009","journal-title":"Hydrol. Process."},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kang, S., Xu, Y., You, Q., Fl\u00fcgel, W.-A., Pepin, N., and Yao, T. (2010). Review of climate and cryospheric change in the Tibetan Plateau. Environ. Res. Lett., 5.","DOI":"10.1088\/1748-9326\/5\/1\/015101"},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gloplacha.2014.02.008","article-title":"Spatial variations in snow cover and seasonally frozen ground over northern China and Mongolia, 1988\u20132010","volume":"116","author":"Han","year":"2014","journal-title":"Glob. Planet. Chang."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/9\/11\/1201\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T18:50:49Z","timestamp":1760208649000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/9\/11\/1201"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,22]]},"references-count":59,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,11]]}},"alternative-id":["rs9111201"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs9111201","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2072-4292"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,11,22]]}}}