Contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the Drakensberg
Sixteen years of low-resolution Landsat 5 and 7 satellite images were used to construct Boolean images of snow cover over the Drakensberg through a GIS. Contemporary patterns of snow cover, including altitudinal variations, were determined for individual months and various seasons. The seasonal occu...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Academy of Science of South Africa
2010-01-01
|
Series: | South African Journal of Science |
Online Access: | https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/10309 |
id |
doaj-77a4131645944b69be3f0d0390e875c2 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-77a4131645944b69be3f0d0390e875c22021-02-27T06:07:39ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892010-01-011055/6Contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the DrakensbergN. Mulder0S. Grab1School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa.School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa.Sixteen years of low-resolution Landsat 5 and 7 satellite images were used to construct Boolean images of snow cover over the Drakensberg through a GIS. Contemporary patterns of snow cover, including altitudinal variations, were determined for individual months and various seasons. The seasonal occurrence and spatial influence of various snow-producing weather systems were determined through remote sensing and the consultation of daily climate data and synoptic charts. A proportional relationship was found between altitude of snow-covered pixels and the number of occurrences that pixels were covered in snow. The highest incidence and most widespread snow cover occurred from June to August; spring snow occurred preferentially in the central and southern Drakensberg regions. Cold fronts and associated cut-off lows accounted for about 80% of snow cover over the Drakensberg.https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/10309 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
N. Mulder S. Grab |
spellingShingle |
N. Mulder S. Grab Contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the Drakensberg South African Journal of Science |
author_facet |
N. Mulder S. Grab |
author_sort |
N. Mulder |
title |
Contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the Drakensberg |
title_short |
Contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the Drakensberg |
title_full |
Contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the Drakensberg |
title_fullStr |
Contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the Drakensberg |
title_full_unstemmed |
Contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the Drakensberg |
title_sort |
contemporary spatio-temporal patterns of snow cover over the drakensberg |
publisher |
Academy of Science of South Africa |
series |
South African Journal of Science |
issn |
1996-7489 |
publishDate |
2010-01-01 |
description |
Sixteen years of low-resolution Landsat 5 and 7 satellite images were used to construct Boolean images of snow cover over the Drakensberg through a GIS. Contemporary patterns of snow cover, including altitudinal variations, were determined for individual months and various seasons. The seasonal occurrence and spatial influence of various snow-producing weather systems were determined through remote sensing and the consultation of daily climate data and synoptic charts. A proportional relationship was found between altitude of snow-covered pixels and the number of occurrences that pixels were covered in snow. The highest incidence and most widespread snow cover occurred from June to August; spring snow occurred preferentially in the central and southern Drakensberg regions. Cold fronts and associated cut-off lows accounted for about 80% of snow cover over the Drakensberg. |
url |
https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/10309 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT nmulder contemporaryspatiotemporalpatternsofsnowcoveroverthedrakensberg AT sgrab contemporaryspatiotemporalpatternsofsnowcoveroverthedrakensberg |
_version_ |
1724248053372682240 |