Spatiotemporal variations of differences between surface air and ground temperatures in China Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

This study analyzed the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of the difference between ground surface temperature (GST) and surface air temperature (SAT) in China based on monthly station data (1970 –2015). Overall, the spatial patterns and temporal evolutions of the annual and seasonal means of GST are similar to those of SAT. However, a dramatic increase in the difference between GST and SAT in northern China in winter is observed since 2005, which is due to a pronounced increase of GST and a slight decrease of SAT. The interdecadal variations of the tendencies of GST and SAT appear associated with theincrease of snow depth in northern China (north of 40°N) in winter in recent decades, especially in northern Xinjiang, northern Inner Mongolia, and most parts of Northeast China. The connection of snow depth with