Extreme snowfall events linked to atmospheric rivers and surface air temperature via satellite measurements

被引：262

作者：

Guan, Bin ^{[1
]}

Molotch, Noah P. ^{[1
,2
,3
]}

Waliser, Duane E. ^{[1
]}

Fetzer, Eric J. ^{[1
]}

Neiman, Paul J. ^{[4
]}

机构：

[1] CALTECH, Jet Prop Lab, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA

[2] Univ Colorado, Dept Geog, Boulder, CO 80309 USA

[3] Univ Colorado, Inst Arctic & Alpine Res, Boulder, CO 80309 USA

[4] NOAA, Earth Syst Res Lab, Div Phys Sci, Boulder, CO 80305 USA

来源：

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS | 2010年 / 37卷

基金：

美国国家科学基金会; 美国国家航空航天局;

关键词：

RIO-GRANDE HEADWATERS; WATER EQUIVALENT; NORTH-AMERICA; SIERRA-NEVADA; COVER DATA; PRECIPITATION; CALIFORNIA; MODEL;

D O I：

10.1029/2010GL044696

中图分类号：

P [天文学、地球科学];

学科分类号：

07 ;

摘要：

Narrow bands of strong atmospheric water vapor transport, referred to as "atmospheric rivers" (ARs), are responsible for the majority of wintertime extreme precipitation events with important contributions to the seasonal water balance. We investigate relationships between snow water equivalent (SWE), precipitation, and surface air temperature (SAT) across the Sierra Nevada for 45 wintertime AR events. Analysis of assimilated and in situ data for water years 2004-2010 indicates that ARs on average generate similar to 4 times daily SWE accumulation of non-AR storms. In addition, AR events contributed similar to 30-40% of total seasonal SWE accumulation in most years, with the contribution dominated by just 1-2 extreme events in some cases. In situ and remotely sensed observations show that SWE changes associated with ARs are closely related to SAT. These results reveal the previously unexplored significance of ARs with regard to the snowpack and associated sensitivities of AR precipitation to SAT. Citation: Guan, B., N. P. Molotch, D. E. Waliser, E. J. Fetzer, and P. J. Neiman (2010), Extreme snowfall events linked to atmospheric rivers and surface air temperature via satellite measurements, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L20401, doi:10.1029/2010GL044696.

引用

页数：6