Studying the spatiotemporal variation of snow-covered days over China based on combined use of MODIS snow-covered days and in situ observations

Based on the moderate resolution imaging spectro-adiometer (MODIS)-acquired snow-covered days data (MSCD), validation of MSCD is performed by using 529 in situ observations of snow-covered days (SCD) from 2001 to 2006 in China. For the different characteristics of snow cover in four major snow-covered regions including the Tibetan Plateau, Xinjiang, and north-eastern and inner Mongolia, the validation process is divided into five parts for all of China. Our results indicate that except in the south-eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, the MSCD is usually lower than the in situ SCD measurement. It is found that the MSCD have good polynomial regression agreement with the in situ measurements in Xinjiang and north-eastern and inner Mongolia with an R ² values that reach 0.89, 0.78, and 0.87, respectively. Because the MSCD is smaller but with a good regression relationship with the in situ SCD, calibration of the MSCD images could significantly improve its precision in those regions. To be considered a stable snow-covered area, there must be greater than 60?days per year in which the pixels are covered by snow. Unstable snow-covered areas are ones in which fewer than 60?days but at least 1?day is covered by snow. The calibrated MSCD outcome indicates that the unstable snow-covered area can reach 555.2?×?10⁴?km², and the stable snow-covered area is approximately 273.1?×?10⁴?km². The area in the three major stable snow-covered regions of the Tibetan Plateau, Xinjiang, and north-eastern and inner Mongolia is approximately 100.4?×?10⁴, 54.4?×?10⁴, and 114.7?×?10⁴?km², respectively.