Impact of climate variability on snow cover: A case study of northern Pakistan
2009
Butt, M.J. (COMSATS Inst. of Information Technology, Islamabad (Pakistan). Dept. of Meteorology) | Iqbal, M.F. (COMSATS Inst. of Information Technology, Islamabad (Pakistan). Dept. of Meteorology)
Climate Change is one of the major factors affecting snow cover distribution. Precipitation in the form of snow, glacier melting, and rainfall are the major contributors to the ground water. Snow monitoring, mapping, estimation, and analysis of snowmelt runoff are time consuming and an intricate process if performed through traditional means. However, the spatial analysis of snow cover area using satellite data is an attractive and effective method. Additionally, the synoptic coverage of satellite sensors offers temporal change detection benefit as well. This study is conducted to analyze the impact of climate variability on snow cover in northern areas of Pakistan. Satellite data archived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is used in this study. In addition elevation data from Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) is used for the production of Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The temporal snow cover is derived front Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI). Temperature data of various years is being used to identify the impact of climate variability on snow cover. Temporal analysis of snow cover using spatial analysis tools revealed variations in snow cover of the study area during different months of 2000 and 2006 data.
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