| 摘 要： |
The snowpack on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), which feeds ten major rivers and supplies freshwater to heavily populated downstream areas, is undergoing major changes owing to climate change. However, the impact of climate change on snowpacks is debated because of the lack of quantitative knowledge about snow mass on the TP. In this study, we collected long time-series data of the snowpack (1961-2018) from 143 stations on the TP at elevations of 1100-4800 m asl and calculated the snow water equivalent based on the observed snow depths and simulated snow densities to examine the snow mass trends, transition patterns of the trends, and their climatic causes. The results show that snow mass on the TP experienced a large increase (1.56 mm/y) until 1981 and a decrease (-0.58 mm/y) after 1981. The snow mass trends exhibited three transition patterns before and after 1981: increasing snow mass trends intensified and decreasing trends weakened on the north edge of the TP; snow loss intensified in the northeast region; and snow mass trends reversed from increasing to decreasing in the south. North of 35 degrees N, the snow mass variability was controlled by precipitation changes. South of 35 degrees N, warming affected only a few stations below 3000 m before 1981, and the reinforced warming then resulted in increased snow mass loss at almost all the stations after 1981. Warming-driven snow mass reversals and the continued warming on the TP could lead to significant water management challenges in densely populated downstream areas. |
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