Seasonal snow extent and snow mass in South America using SMMR and SSM/I passive microwave data (1979–2006)

Seasonal snow cover in South America was examined in this study using passive microwave satellite data from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on board the Nimbus-7 satellite and the Special Sensor Microwave Imagers (SSM/I) on board Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. For the period from 1979–2006, both snow cover extent and snow water equivalent (snow mass) were investigated during the coldest months (May–September), primarily in the Patagonia area of Argentina and in the Andes of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, where most of the seasonal snow is found. Since winter temperatures in this region are often above freezing, the coldest winter month was found to be the month having the most extensive snow cover and usually the month having the deepest snow cover as well. Sharp year-to-year differences were recorded using the passive microwave observations. The average snow cover extent for July, the month with the greatest average extent during the 28-year period of record, is 321,674 km2. In July of 1984, the average monthly snow cover extent was 701,250 km2 — the most extensive coverage observed between 1979 and 2006. However, in July of 1989, snow cover extent was only 120,000 km2. The 28-year period of record shows a sinusoidal like pattern for both snow cover and snow mass, though neither trend is significant at the 95% level.