Relating variation of dust on snow to bare soil dynamics in the western United States

The deposition of desert dust to mountain snow directly impacts the hydrologic cycle and water resource management through the depression of snow albedo and acceleration of snowmelt. However, the key processes that control the variation of dust deposition to snow are poorly understood. Here we relate the bare soil exposure from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance data for the period of 2002–2011, with dust loading in snow at downwind mountain sites in southern Colorado, the United States. We found that, for many pixels, remotely sensed fraction of bare soil in the dust-emitting area is significantly correlated with end-of-season dust concentrations in snow, and that the highest number of significantly correlated pixels in the dust-source area corresponds well with the period of peak dust deposition in the mountain snow (April–May). This analysis indicates that surface conditions in the dust-source area may provide first-order controls on emission of dust and deposition of that dust to the mountain snowcover. A preliminary analysis of precipitation records indicates that bare ground cover is strongly affected by prior rainfall in the months preceding the dust-emission season. (letter)