Variation in the location of the South Asian High （SAH） in early boreal summer is strongly influenced by elevated surface heating from the Tibetan Plateau （TP） and the Iranian Plateau （IP）. Based on observational and ERA-Interim data, diagnostic analyses reveal that the interannual northwestward-southeastwaxd （NW-SE） shift of the SAH in June is more closely correlated with the synergistic effect of concurrent surface thermal anomalies over the TP and IP than with each single surface thermal anomaly over either plateau from the preceding May. Concurrent surface thermal anomalies over these two plateaus in May are characterized by a negative correlation between sensible heat flux over most parts of the TP （TPSH） and IP （IPSH）. This anomaly pattern can persist till June and influences the NW-SE shift of the SAH in June through the release of latent heat （LH） over northeastern India. When the IPSH is stronger （weaker） and the TPSH is weaker （stronger） than normal in May, an anomalous cyclone （anticyclone） appears over northern India at 850 hPa, which is accompanied by the ascent （descent） of air and anomalous convergence （divergence） of moisture flux in May and June. Therefore, the LH release over northeastern India is strengthened （weakened） and the vertical gradient of apparent heat source is decreased （increased） in the upper troposphere, which is responsible for the northwestward （southeastward） shift of the SAH in June.
An 18-year long(1993–2011) comprehensive dataset of snow and meteorological variables from Col de Porte, France is used to analyze the variation of shortwave broadband albedo with elapsed time after snowfalls(snow aging) during each snow season. The effects of air temperature, snow surface temperature and snow depth on snow albedo are investigated. An index based on the accumulation of air temperature over several consecutive days with daily mean higher than 2.5 °C is proposed to divide each snow-covered period into a dry and the following wet snow season when this index reaches 18 °C.The results indicate that snow surface albedo decreases exponentially with time in both dry and wet snow seasons.Snow albedo reduction with snow aging is small at low surface temperature and the reduction rate increases with the rise of surface temperature. However, the reduction rate is widely scattered within the observed range of temperature, implying a loose relationship between snow albedo and snow surface temperature. Snow albedo in wet snowseason is generally smaller and decreases faster than in dry snow season. For Col de Porte site, snow depths to effectively mask the underlying surface are 21 and 33 cm in dry and wet snow season respectively.
