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
From 2013 to 2014, the Glacial Geomorphology of the upper reaches of Heihe River in the late Quaternary was investigated and sampled. Based on the field investigation and remote sensing image, the distribution map of moraine at different levels near the ridge of the upper reaches of the Bailang river was obtained.
HU Xiaofei, PAN Baotian
From July 21 to September 2, 2012, the observation data of snowmelt water temperature and near surface temperature in hulugou small watershed were observed by hobo automatic temperature recorder, with the observation frequency of once / 15 minutes, and the near surface temperature recorder was 20cm away from the surface. The observation point 01 is an ice lake, which is formed by the permanent snow supply of Hunan slope. The lake is approximately triangular, and the long side trend is parallel to the slope foot, with the coordinates of 99 ° 53 ′ 11 ″ E and 38 ° 13 ′ 6 ″ n. The observation period is from July 21, 2012 to September 2, 2012. No.02 observation point is located under the ice lake, the source of the East tributary of hulugou, the foot of permanent snow slope and the lower edge of snow melting. The coordinates are 99 ° 53 ′ 12 ″ e, 38 ° 13 ′ 6 ″ n. The observation period is from July 21, 2012 to September 2, 2012. The distance between the two points is relatively close, and the near surface temperature is the uniform temperature, which is the near surface temperature of point 01.
CHANG Qixin
Glaciers are sensitive to climate change and are important indicators and amplifiers of global change. In inland river regions, river runoff mainly comes from mountain ice and snow melt. Glaciers are very important "solid reservoirs" in these regions, and glacial melt water is an important source of supply for the tributaries of the Heihe River. The inventory of glaciers in the Heihe River Basin was completed from 1979 to 1980. For related information, please refer to "Chinese Glacier Inventory-Qilian Mountains" edited by Wang Zongtai and others. In 2004, the relevant results of the "China Glacier Inventory" were systematically digitized and a database was established. The final results were released through the "China Glacier Information System". However, in the process of coordinate restoration, the accuracy of the reference data was poor, and the glaciers in the Heihe River Basin had obvious position shifts. Therefore, we used the Landsat remote sensing image corrected by ortho-geometric correction. The processed Heihe Glacier distribution data is highly consistent with the existing basic geographic information in China in terms of geometric accuracy, and consistent with the first glacier inventory in terms of attributes.
WANG Zongtai
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