C. Derksen et al., Associations between spatially autocorrelated patterns of SSM/I-derived prairie snow cover and atmospheric circulation, HYDROL PROC, 12(15), 1998, pp. 2307-2316
Passive-microwave derived observations of snow cover show potential to prov
ide synoptically sensitive, and hydrologically and climatologically signifi
cant, information because of all-weather imaging capabilities, rapid scene
revisit time and the ability to derive quantitative estimates of snow water
equivalent (SWE). In this study, we seek to identify the dominant patterns
of clustering in SWE imagery using the Getis statistic, a local indicator
of spatial association, The SWE data were derived from five day-averaged Sp
ecial Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) brightness temperatures using the Can
adian Atmospheric Environment Service dual channel algorithm. The analysed
data span one winter season (December-February 1988-1989) and are limited t
o a ground-validated prairie scene. National Center for Environmental Predi
ction (NCEP) gridded atmospheric data (500 mb geopotential height; 700 mb t
emperature) were incorporated into the study to investigate whether the spa
tial orientation of the Getis statistic clusters provides information on in
teraction between snow cover and the atmosphere. Results show that the dire
ction of atmospheric airflow as expressed by the 500 mb geopotential height
field corresponds strongly to the orientation of surface snow cover cluste
rs with no time lag, The 700 mb temperature field is also a controlling inf
luence on the snow cover clusters both through modifying cluster orientatio
n and reinforcing cluster magnitude, (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.