Interannual oscillations and trend of snow occurrence in the Andes region since 1885

Abstract

Using documentary sources, a series of the annual number of snow days in the Mendoza area of Argentina has been constructed. Analysis of the series using Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) and the Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) showed that the number of snow days exhibits interdecadal and interannual oscillations with periods of about 28 and five years. Furthermore a positive trend was detected. This temporal pattern is consistent with studies of the variability of global surface temperature, indicating a strong relationship between temperature and snow occurrence in the climate system and the potential for using snow occurrence as an indicator of climate change.