LARGE - SCALE SNOW DEPTH ? ELEVATION RELATIONSHIPS OF WORLD’S MAJOR MOUNTAIN REGIONS

This study presents large-scale statistical relationships between snow depth and elevation for some major high mountain regions over the Northern Hemisphere estimated from climatology. Routine in-situ measurements of snow depth are concentrated in low-elevation sites whereas satellite remote sensing data of snow depth distribution are available but are considered inaccurate over the mountains. Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) daily snow depth analysis data over the Northern Hemisphere at 24 km resolution is available from 1998 to 2015. Snow depth is estimated using optimal interpolation of in-situ measurements and a snow accumulation and melt model driven by analyzed precipitation and temperature. To derive snow depth-elevation relationships, CMC monthly snow depth data were used and matched to elevation at the same resolution. Of particular focus were the mountain regions over Continental US, European Alps, and Himalayas.