SpringerLink
Log in

Snowline and snow cover monitoring at high spatial resolution in a mountainous river basin based on a time-lapse camera at a daily scale

  • Published:
Journal of Mountain Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Snowline change and snow cover distribution patterns are still poorly understood in steep alpine basins of the Qilian Mountainous region because fast changes in snow cover cannot be observed by current sensing methods due to their short time scale. To address this issue of daily snowline and snow cover observations, a ground-based EOS 7D camera and four infrared digital hunting video cameras (LTL5210A) were installed around the Hulugou river basin (HRB) in the Qilian Mountains along northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (38°15′54″N, 99°52′53″E) in September 2011. Pictures taken with the EOS 7D camera were georeferenced and the data from four LIL5210A cameras and snow depth sensors were used to assist snow cover estimation. The results showed that the time-lapse photography can be very useful and precise for monitoring snowline and snow cover in mountainous regions. The snowline and snow cover evolution at this basin can be precisely captured at daily scale. In HRB snow cover is mainly established after October, and the maximum snow cover appeared during February and March. The consistent rise of the snowline and decrease in snow cover appeared after middle part of March. This melt process is strongly associated with air temperature increase.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baral, DJ, Gupta RP (1997) Integration of satellite sensor data with DEM for the study of snow cover distribution and depletion pattern. International Journal of Remore Sensing 18(18): 3889–3894. DOI: 10.1080/014311697216711.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernard É, Friedt JM, Tolle F, et al. (2013) Monitoring seasonal snow dynamics using ground based high resolution photography (Austre Lovénbreen, Svalbard, 79°N). ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 75: 92–100. DOI: 10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2012.11.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corripio JG, Durand Y, Guyomarc’h G, et al. (2004) Land-based remote sensing of snow for the validation of a snow transport model. Cold regions Science and Technology 39: 93–104. DOI: 10.1016/j.coldregions.2004.03.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corripio JG (2004) Snow surface albedo estimation using terrestrial photography. INT. J. Remote Sensing 25(24): 5705–5729. DOI: 10.1080/01431160410001709002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dumont M, Arnaud Y, Six D, et al. (2009) Retrieval of glacier surface albedo using terrestrial photography. La Houille Blanche/No 2, 102–108. DOI: 10.1051/ihb:2009021.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, SM, Colohan RJE (1999) Develo** the snow component of a distributed hydrological model: A step-wise approach based on multi-objective analysis. Journal of Hydrology 223(1–2): 1–16. DOI: 10.1016/S0022-1694(99)00095-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farinotti D, Magnusson J, Huss M, et al. (2010) Snow accumulation distribution inferred from time-lapse photography and simple modeling. Hydrological Processes 24: 2087–2097. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.7629.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gafurov A, Bárdossy A (2009) Cloud removal methodology from MODIS snow cover product. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 13: 1361–1373. DOI: 10.5194/hess-13-1361-2009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinkler J, Ørbæk JB, Hansen BU (2003) Detection of spatial, temporal, and spectral surface changes in the Ny-Ålesund area 79°N Svalbard, using a low cost multispectral camera in combination with spectroradiometer measurements. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 28: 1229–1239. DOI: 10.1016/j.pce.2003.08.059.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinkler J, Pedersen SB, Rasch M, et al. (2002) Automatic snow cover monitoring at high temporal and spatial resolution, using images taken by a standard digital camera. International Journal of Remote Sensing 23(21): 4669–4682. DOI: 10.1080/01431160110113881.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ke T, Zhang ZX, Yang JQ (2009) Planning and multi-baseline digital close range photogrammetry. Geomatics and information Science of Wuhan University 34(1): 44–47, 51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr T, Clark M, Hendrikx J et al. (2013) Snow distribution in a steep mid-latitude alpine catchment, Advances in Water Resources 55: 17–24. DOI: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2012.12.010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liston GE, Sturm M (1998) A snow-transport model for complex terrain. Journal of Glaciology 44(148): 498–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu JF, Chen RS, Song YX (2012) Map** snowcover based on digital Photogrammetry. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology 34(3): 618–624.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maas HG, Dietrich R, Schwalbe E, et al. (2006) Analysis of the motion behavior of Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier in Greenland by monocular image sequence analysis. IAPRS, XXXVI(5) Dresden: 179–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mass HG, Schneider D, Schwalbe E, et al. (2010) Photogrammetric determination of spatio-temporal velocity fields at glacier San Rafael in the Northern Patagonian Icefield. International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XXXVIII,5: 417–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, KM, Dewalle DR (1998) Application of the snowmelt runoff model using multiple parameter land scape zones on the Towanda Creek Basin, Pennslvania. Journal of the American Water Resources 34(2): 335–346. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1998.tb04139.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parajka J, Haas P, Kirnbauer R, et al. (2012) Potential of time-lapse photography of snow for hydrological purposes at the small catchment scale. Hydrological Processes 26: 3327–3337. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.8389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paudel KP, Andersen P, (2011) Monitoring snow cover variability in an agropastoral area in the Trans Himalayan region of Nepal using MODIS data with improved cloud removal methodology. Remote Sensing of Environment 115: 1234–1246. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2011.01.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt S, Weber B, Winiger M, (2009) Seasonal Analyses of seasonal snow disappearance in an alpine valley from micro- to meso-scale (Loetschemtal, Switerland). Hydrological Processes 23(7): 1041–1051. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.7205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seyfried AB, Wilcox BP, (1995) Scale and the nature of spatial variability: Field examples having implications for hydrologic modeling. Water Resources Research 31(1): 173–184. DOI: 10.1029/94WR02025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh VP, Singh P, Haritashya UK (2014) Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. ISBN: 978-90-481-2641-5 (print): 1203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winstral A, Marks D, Gurney R (2012) Simulating wind-affected snow accumulations at catchment to basin scales. Adv Water Resour 55: 64–79. DOI: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2012.08.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang ZX, Yang SCJ, Zhang Q (2007) Multi-baseline digital closerange photogrammetry. Geospatial Information 5(1): 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Qilian Alpine Ecology and Hydrology Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Jun-feng Liu, Ren-sheng Chen & Gang Wang

  2. Heihe Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology and Integrated River Basin Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Jun-feng Liu & Ren-sheng Chen

Authors
  1. Jun-feng Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ren-sheng Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jun-feng Liu.

Additional information

0000-0002-4773-0786

0000-0002-2073-3098

0000-0002-5598-2473

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, Jf., Chen, Rs. & Wang, G. Snowline and snow cover monitoring at high spatial resolution in a mountainous river basin based on a time-lapse camera at a daily scale. J. Mt. Sci. 12, 60–69 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-013-2842-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-013-2842-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation