A Stratified Diagnosis of the Indian Monsoon—Eurasian Snow Cover Relationship

Abstract This study is aimed at reconciling inconsistencies between modeling studies of the Indian monsoon–Eurasian snow cover relationship, which support the Blanford hypothesis, and recent diagnostic studies, which have largely failed to show its existence. Recently released version 2 NOAA/NESDIS satellite-based retrievals of snow cover are used. A focus is given to diagnosing (a) spatial and temporal complexity in the Eurasian snow cover distribution, (b) the role of ENSO in modulating the snow cover–all-India rainfall (AIR) relationship, and (c) the spatial distribution of the rainfall association within India. With these goals in mind, the climatological distribution of snow cover and its interannual variability are first assessed. While snow cover is largest in northern Eurasia, its variability is most pronounced in southwestern (SW) Asia between the Black and Caspian Seas, and across the northern Indian, Himalayan, and Tibetan Plateau (NIHT) regions. In regions of large variability, and for Eurasia...

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