Rapid decline in extratropical Andean snow cover driven by the poleward migration of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies

Cordero, Raúl R.; Feron, Sarah; Damiani, Alessandro; MacDonell, Shelley; Carrasco, Jorge; Pizarro, Jaime; Karas, Cyrus; Jorquera, Jose; Sepulveda, Edgardo; Cabello, Fernanda; Fernandoy, Francisco; Wang, Chenghao; Khan, Alia L.; Casassa, Gino

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-78014-0

i

Rapid decline in extratropical Andean snow cover driven by the poleward migration of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies

2024
By Cordero, Raúl R. ; Feron, Sarah ; Damiani, Alessandro ; ...

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Journal Title:

Scientific Reports
Personal Author:

Cordero, Raúl R. ; Feron, Sarah ; Damiani, Alessandro ; MacDonell, Shelley ; Carrasco, Jorge ; Pizarro, Jaime ; Karas, Cyrus ; Jorquera, Jose ; Sepulveda, Edgardo ; Cabello, Fernanda ; Fernandoy, Francisco ; Wang, Chenghao ; Khan, Alia L. ; Casassa, Gino
NOAA Program & Office:

NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) ; CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) ; NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information)
Description:

Seasonal snow in the extratropical Andes is a primary water source for major rivers supplying water for drinking, agriculture, and hydroelectric power in Central Chile. Here, we used estimates from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to analyze changes in snow cover extent over the period 2001–2022 in a total of 18 watersheds spanning approximately 1,100 km across the Chilean Andes (27–36°S). We found that the annual snow cover extent is receding in the watersheds analyzed at an average pace of approximately 19% per decade. These alarming trends have impacted meltwater runoff, resulting in historically low river streamflows during the dry season. We examined streamflow records dating back to the early 1980s for 10 major rivers within our study area. Further comparisons with large-scale climate modes suggest that the detected decreasing trends in snow cover extent are likely driven by the poleward migration of the westerly winds associated with a positive trend in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM).
Source:

Scientific Reports, 14(1)
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-78014-0
ISSN:

2045-2322
Format:

pdf
Publisher:

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Document Type:

Journal Article
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Rights Information:

CC BY-NC-ND
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Library
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:7dafb9f8f53832ecc771e4623bd71d4ffdcf34c36d670270a09896814f4cf92895da3cf0dd342e1552eccd402b39e58723d32c95a1c347901a4cee9bde0e67e0
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/68787/noaa_68787_DS1.pdf
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[PDF - 6.16 MB ]

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