The first alpine wide assessment of observed station snow depth trends 1971 to 2019, enabled by a research community effort, involves six countries and more than 2000 stations. This presents the most spatially comprehensive analysis to date, which shows reduced snow depth in most stations in winter, with stronger trends in spring. The differences in observed trends between north and south or east and west is likely caused by the diverse climatic influences in the European Alps.
The first alpine wide assessment of observed station snow depth trends 1971 to 2019, enabled by...
Received: 03 Oct 2020 – Accepted for review: 10 Oct 2020 – Discussion started: 12 Oct 2020
Abstract. The European Alps stretch over a range of climate zones, which affect the spatial distribution of snow. Previous analyses of station observations of snow were confined to regional analyses. Here, we present an Alpine wide analysis of snow depth from six Alpine countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland; including altogether more than 2000 stations. Using a principal component analysis and k-means clustering, we identified five main modes of variability and five regions, which match the climatic forcing zones: north and high Alpine, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. Linear trends of mean monthly snow depth between 1971 to 2019 showed decreases in snow depth for 87 % of the stations. December to February trends were on average −1.1 cm decade−1 (min, max: −10.8, 4.4; elevation range 0–1000 m), −2.5 (−25.1, 4.4; 1000–2000 m) and −0.1 (−23.3, 9.9; 2000–3000 m), with stronger trends in March to May: −0.6 (−10.9, 1.0; 0–1000 m), −4.6 (−28.1, 4.1; 1000–2000 m) and −7.6 (−28.3, 10.5; 2000–3000 m). However, regional trends differed substantially, which challenges the notion of generalizing results from one Alpine region to another or to the whole Alps. This study presents an analysis of station snow depth series with the most comprehensive spatial coverage in the European Alps to date.
Snow cover in the European Alps: Station observations of snow depth and depth of snowfallM. Matiu, A. Crespi, G. Bertoldi, C. M. Carmagnola, S. Morin, S. Kotlarski, M. Valt, W. Beozzo, P. Cianfarra, I. Gouttevin, S. C. Scherrer, A. Cicogna, M. Gaddo, J.-M. Soubeyroux, A. Sušnik, A. Trenti, S. Urbani, and V. Weilguni https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4064129
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Snow cover in the European Alps: Station observations of snow depth and depth of snowfall (Version v1.0)M. Matiu, A. Crespi, G. Bertoldi, C. M. Carmagnola, S. Morin, S. Kotlarski, M. Valt, W. Beozzo, P. Cianfarra, I. Gouttevin, S. C. Scherrer, A. Cicogna, M. Gaddo, J.-M. Soubeyroux, A. Sušnik, A. Trenti, S. Urbani, and V. Weilguni https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4064129
Michael Matiu et al.
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The first alpine wide assessment of observed station snow depth trends 1971 to 2019, enabled by a research community effort, involves six countries and more than 2000 stations. This presents the most spatially comprehensive analysis to date, which shows reduced snow depth in most stations in winter, with stronger trends in spring. The differences in observed trends between north and south or east and west is likely caused by the diverse climatic influences in the European Alps.
The first alpine wide assessment of observed station snow depth trends 1971 to 2019, enabled by...