Snow is a significant component of the ecosystem and water resources in high-mountain Asia (HMA). Therefore, accurate, continuous, and long-term snow monitoring is indispensable for the water resources management and economic development. The present study improves the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Terra and Aqua satellites 8 d (“d” denotes “day”) composite snow cover Collection 6 (C6) products, named MOD10A2.006 (Terra) and MYD10A2.006 (Aqua), for HMA with a multistep approach. The primary purpose of this study was to reduce uncertainty in the Terra–Aqua MODIS snow cover products and generate a combined snow cover product. For reducing underestimation mainly caused by cloud cover, we used seasonal, temporal, and spatial filters. For reducing overestimation caused by MODIS sensors, we combined Terra and Aqua MODIS snow cover products, considering snow only if a pixel represents snow in both the products; otherwise it is classified as no snow, unlike some previous studies which consider snow if any of the Terra or Aqua product identifies snow. Our methodology generates a new product which removes a significant amount of uncertainty in Terra and Aqua MODIS 8 d composite C6 products comprising 46 % overestimation and 3.66 % underestimation, mainly caused by sensor limitations and cloud cover, respectively. The results were validated using Landsat 8 data, both for winter and summer at 20 well-distributed sites in the study area. Our validated adopted methodology improved accuracy by 10 % on average, compared to Landsat data. The final product covers the period from 2002 to 2018, comprising a combination of snow and glaciers created by merging Randolph Glacier Inventory version 6.0 (RGI 6.0) separated as debris-covered and debris-free with the final snow product MOYDGL06*. We have processed approximately 746 images of both Terra and Aqua MODIS snow containing approximately 100 000 satellite individual images. Furthermore, this product can serve as a valuable input dataset for hydrological and glaciological modelling to assess the melt contribution of snow-covered areas. The data, which can be used in various climatological and water-related studies, are available for end users at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.901821 (Muhammad and Thapa, 2019).
SHER Muhammad
The dataset was produced based on MODIS data. Parameters and algorithm were revised to be suitable for the land cover type in the Three-River-Source Regions. By using the Markov de-cloud algorithm, SSM/I snow water equivalent data was fused to the result. Finally, high accuracy daily de-cloud snow cover data was produced. The data value is 0(no snow) or 1(snow). The spatial resolution is 500m, the time period is from 2000-2-24 to 2019-12-31. Data format is geotiff, Arcmap or python+GDAL were recommended to open and process the data.
HAO Xiaohua
This dataset was derived from long-term daily snow depth in China based on the boundary of the three-river-source area. The snow depth ranges from 0 to 100 cm, and the temporal coverage is from January 1 1980 to December 31 2020. The spatial and temporal resolutions are 0.25o and daily, respectively. Snow depth was produced from satellite passive microwave remote sensing data which came from three different sensors that are SMMR, SSM/I and SSMI/S. Considering the systematic bias among these sensors, the inter-sensor calibrations were performed to obtain temporal consistent passive microwave remote sensing data. And the long-term daily snow depth in China were produced from this consistent data based on the spectral gradient method.For header file information, refer to the data set header.txt.
DAI Liyun
This data is a simulated output data set of 5km monthly hydrological data obtained by establishing the WEB-DHM distributed hydrological model of the source regions of Yangtze River and Yellow River, using temperature, precipitation and pressure as input data, and GAME-TIBET data as verification data. The dataset includes grid runoff and evaporation (if the evaporation is less than 0, it means deposition; if the runoff is less than 0, it means that the precipitation in the month is less than evaporation). This data is a model based on the WEB-DHM distributed hydrological model, and established by using temperature, and precipitation (from itp-forcing and CMA) as input data, GLASS, MODIA, AVHRR as vegetation data, and SOILGRID and FAO as soil parameters. And by the calibration and verification of runoff，soil temperature and soil humidity, the 5 km monthly grid runoff and evaporation in the source regions of Yangtze River and Yellow River from 1998 to 2017 was obtained. If asc can't open normally in arcmap, please delete the blacks space of the top 5 lines of the asc file.
WANG Lei
The Tibetan Plateau has an average altitude of over 4000 m and is the region with the highest altitude and the largest snow cover in the middle and low latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere regions. Snow cover is the most important underlying surface of the seasonal changes on the Tibetan Plateau and an important composing element of ecological environment. Ice and snow melt water is an important water resource of the plateau and its downstream areas. At the same time, plateau snow, as an important land-surface forcing factor, is closely related to disastrous weather (such as droughts and floods) in East Asia, the South Asian monsoon and in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is an important indicator of short-term climate prediction and one of the most sensitive responses to global climate change. The snow depth refers to the vertical depth from the surface of the snow to the ground. It is an important parameter for snow characteristics and one of the conventional meteorological observation elements. It is the key parameter of snow water equivalent estimation, climate effect studies of snow cover, the basin water balance, the simulation and monitoring of snow-melt, and snow disaster evaluation and grading. In this data set, the Tibetan Plateau boundary was determined by adopting the natural topography as the leading factor and by comprehensive consideration of the principles of altitude, plateau and mountain integrity. The main part of the plateau is in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, with an area of 2.572 million square kilometers, accounting for 26.8% of the total land area of China. The snow depth observation data are the monthly maximum snow depth data after quality detection and quality control. There are 102 meteorological stations in the study area, most of which were built during the 1950s to 1970s. The data for some months or years for sites existing during this period were missing, and the complete observational records from 1961 to 2013 were adopted. The temporal resolution is daily, the spatial coverage is the Tibetan Plateau, and all the data were quality controlled. Accurate and detailed plateau snow depth data are of great significance for the diagnosis of climate change, the evolution of the Asian monsoon and the management of regional snow-melt water resources.
National Meteorological Information Center, Tibet Meteorological Bureau, China
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