Distinguishing the Role of Wind in Snow Distribution by Utilizing Remote Sensing and Modeling Data: Case Study in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Snow distribution has a profound impact on natural processes such as the hydrological cycle, the climate system, and ecological evolution. Many studies suggest that elevation, temperature, and precipitation are the three major factors controlling snow distribution. Our study explores the influence of wind on the snow distribution and finds that wind is another important factor controlling the snow distribution in the northeastern Tibet Plateau. We select the Qilian Mountains in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau as the study area, and the data include the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer snow area product and the atmosphere dataset generated by the Weather Research and Forecasting model. The results indicate that there is a threshold elevation for the correlation between the fractional snow cover (FSC) area and the wind speed in the study area. At elevations above 3900 m, the FSC and wind speed exhibit a significant negative correlation, and at elevations below 3900 m, they exhibit a significant positive correlation. Our analyses indicate that the probability for the occurrence of snowdrifts is higher in regions above 3900 m and that the wind transports snow from regions above 3900 m to lower elevations.