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Regional imprints of global warming have to be investigated to predict the impact of climate change on a local scale and inform mitigation and adaptation policies. The rate of warming as a function of elevation in mountainous regions is yet to be fully characterized and understood. This study aims to identify elevation-dependent warming features in the Alps as well as its physical drivers, using MAR (Modle Atmosphrique Rgional) simulations with a 7kmx7km resolution over 1961-2100, under different climate scenarios. Different seasonal patterns have been found, most notably a maximum of warming at intermediate elevation (~1500m to 1800m) in Spring related to earlier snow melting in future projections. This maximum of warming moves towards higher elevations over the XXIst century. Elevation-dependent warming is found to be different in the free-atmosphere and along the slopes of the mountains, highlighting the major impact of surface processes, such as changes in albedo, in the drivers of climate change in the Alps.
Castellanos et al. (Fri,) studied this question.