---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '19777'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Snow cover is of key importance for water resources in high mountain Asia
    (HMA) and is expected to undergo extensive changes in a warming climate. Past
    studies have quantified snow cover changes with satellite products of relatively
    low spatial resolution (∼500 m) which are hindered by the steep topography of
    this mountain region. We derive snowlines from Sentinel-2 and Landsat 5, 7 and
    8 images, which, thanks to their higher spatial resolution, are less sensitive
    to the local topography. We calculate the snow line altitude (SLA) and its seasonality
    for all glacierized catchments of HMA and link these patterns to climate variables
    corrected for topographic biases. As such, the snowline changes provide a clear
    proxy for climatic changes. Our results highlight a strong spatial variability
    in mean SLA and in its seasonal changes, including across mountain chains and
    between the monsoon-dominated and the westerlies-dominated catchments. Over the
    period 1999–2019, the western regions of HMA (Pamir, Karakoram, Western Himalaya)
    have undergone increased snow coverage, expressed as seasonal SLA decrease, in
    spring and summer. This change is opposed to a widespread increase in SLA in autumn
    across the region, and especially the southeastern regions of HMA (Nyainqentanglha,
    Hengduan Shan, South–East Himalaya). Our results indicate that the diversity of
    seasonal snow dynamics across the region is controlled not by temperature or precipitation
    directly but by the timing and partitioning of solid precipitation. Decadal snowline
    changes (1999–2009 vs 2009–2019) seasonally precede temperature changes, suggesting
    that seasonal temperature changes in the Karakoram–Pamir and Eastern Nyainqentanglha
    regions may have responded to snow cover changes, rather than driving them.
acknowledgement: This work was supported by the SNSF (Science and Swiss National Science
  Foundation)-SSSTC (Sino-Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation) Project (IZLCZ0_189890)
  'Understanding snow, glacier and rivers response to climate in High Mountain Asia
  (ASCENT)', by the JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion)-SNSF Bilateral Programmes
  project (HOPE, High-elevation precipitation in High Mountain Asia; Grant 183633),
  and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020
  research and innovation program (RAVEN, Rapid mass losses of debris-covered glaciers
  in High Mountain Asia; Grant 772751). Marin Kneib acknowledges funding from the
  SNSF Postdoc.Mobility program (Grant No. P500PN_210739).
article_number: '064039'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: M.
  full_name: Bernat, M.
  last_name: Bernat
- first_name: E. S.
  full_name: Miles, E. S.
  last_name: Miles
- first_name: M.
  full_name: Kneib, M.
  last_name: Kneib
- first_name: K.
  full_name: Fujita, K.
  last_name: Fujita
- first_name: O.
  full_name: Sasaki, O.
  last_name: Sasaki
- first_name: Thomas
  full_name: Shaw, Thomas
  id: 3caa3f91-1f03-11ee-96ce-e0e553054d6e
  last_name: Shaw
  orcid: 0000-0001-7640-6152
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
  orcid: 0000-0002-5554-8087
citation:
  ama: Bernat M, Miles ES, Kneib M, et al. Precipitation phase drives seasonal and
    decadal snowline changes in high mountain Asia. <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>.
    2025;20(6). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39">10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39</a>
  apa: Bernat, M., Miles, E. S., Kneib, M., Fujita, K., Sasaki, O., Shaw, T., &#38;
    Pellicciotti, F. (2025). Precipitation phase drives seasonal and decadal snowline
    changes in high mountain Asia. <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>. IOP Publishing.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39">https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39</a>
  chicago: Bernat, M., E. S. Miles, M. Kneib, K. Fujita, O. Sasaki, Thomas Shaw, and
    Francesca Pellicciotti. “Precipitation Phase Drives Seasonal and Decadal Snowline
    Changes in High Mountain Asia.” <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>. IOP Publishing,
    2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39">https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39</a>.
  ieee: M. Bernat <i>et al.</i>, “Precipitation phase drives seasonal and decadal
    snowline changes in high mountain Asia,” <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>,
    vol. 20, no. 6. IOP Publishing, 2025.
  ista: Bernat M, Miles ES, Kneib M, Fujita K, Sasaki O, Shaw T, Pellicciotti F. 2025.
    Precipitation phase drives seasonal and decadal snowline changes in high mountain
    Asia. Environmental Research Letters. 20(6), 064039.
  mla: Bernat, M., et al. “Precipitation Phase Drives Seasonal and Decadal Snowline
    Changes in High Mountain Asia.” <i>Environmental Research Letters</i>, vol. 20,
    no. 6, 064039, IOP Publishing, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39">10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39</a>.
  short: M. Bernat, E.S. Miles, M. Kneib, K. Fujita, O. Sasaki, T. Shaw, F. Pellicciotti,
    Environmental Research Letters 20 (2025).
date_created: 2025-06-03T07:30:21Z
date_published: 2025-06-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-30T12:43:11Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: FrPe
doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/adcf39
external_id:
  isi:
  - '001493525600001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 84a8d895762f0ab4b30b34e7387b33c7
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2025-06-03T08:10:45Z
  date_updated: 2025-06-03T08:10:45Z
  file_id: '19781'
  file_name: 2025_EnvironmResearchLetters_Bernat.pdf
  file_size: 3604497
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2025-06-03T08:10:45Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        20'
isi: 1
issue: '6'
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
month: '06'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: Environmental Research Letters
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1748-9326
publication_status: published
publisher: IOP Publishing
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
  record:
  - id: '19780'
    relation: research_data
    status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Precipitation phase drives seasonal and decadal snowline changes in high mountain
  Asia
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 20
year: '2025'
...