Variability and changes of snow cover in Central European mountains

Mountainous regions present a distinct vulnerability to climate change, serving as valuable barometers for tracking these shifts. Studies conducted across various global locales reveal a recent uptick in temperatures within mountainous terrains, notably evident since the 1980s, with variations in intensity across specific altitude bands. While temperature rises are not consistently accompanied by notable trends in annual precipitation totals, they do prompt alterations in the annual precipitation patterns and types, thereby impacting the frequency and duration of snow cover.

Since snow cover plays a pivotal role in the Earth's systems, influencing hydrology, climate, and ecological environments, any alterations in snowpack patterns will yield multifaceted effects. This study aims to investigate the variability of snow cover metrics, including snow depth, duration, persistence, and extent.

The study focused on mountainous regions in Central Europe, defined as areas with elevations exceeding 500 meters above sea level within the domain of 10°E - 25°E longitude and 47°N - 55°N latitude. Data analysis spanned from 1961 to 2023 and drew upon various meteorological sources, including on-site snow depth measurements and regional ERA5-Land reanalysis. To better capture the details of complex terrain, a new gridded dataset was generated by integrating measurements with reanalysis data at a spatial resolution of 0.5 kilometers.

The primary findings underscore the significant influence of ongoing climate change on snow cover characteristics, with the intensity of this impact varying based on geographical and terrain factors such as altitude, landform, slope, and aspect. However, a consistent multiannual decrease in snowpack persistence was observed across the entire research area.

A comprehensive understanding of the timing of snow accumulation and ablation is essential, as it governs springtime mountain runoff rates, water infiltration, groundwater storage, and transpiration rates—all critical components of the hydrological cycle.