Abstract:

Based on MODIS snow products,we studied the changes of snow cover area during 2003—2006 in Antarctic coastline region,and on the basis of that,we selected 18 typical regions for further analysis.The result showed that the change of snow cover area was in a fluctuant downward trend on a whole,and was more marked in warm season than in cold season.In temporal scale:for the season cycle,the snow cover extent increased rapidly in cold season(April—October),while the performance in warm season(November—March)was not exactly the same during the four years.In warm season,the snow cover extent decreased at first and then increased in the year of 2004 and 2006,however,increased firstly and then decreased in 2005,but reduced on the whole,which was a positive feedback.For the interannual cycle,snow cover extent was the biggest in 2003,but reached the lowest level in 2004,and then increased gradually during 2005—2006,whereas,it reduced on the whole.In spatial scale,along the coastline region of Antarctic continent is the mainly changed area,meanwhile,the change is more obvious in West Antarctica than in East Antarctica.