Snow Depth Measurements using Ground-Based FMCW Radar Measurements Of Dry Snowpacks During December Of The 2006-07 NASA CLPX-II

Marshall, Hans-Peter, Rutter, Nick and Koh, Gary (2007) Snow Depth Measurements using Ground-Based FMCW Radar Measurements Of Dry Snowpacks During December Of The 2006-07 NASA CLPX-II. In: 64th Annual Eastern Snow Conference, 29th May - 1st June 2007, St John's, Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Ground-based microwave radar measurements of snowpacks were made during the December Intensive Observation Period (IOP) of the 2006-07 NASA Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX). Measurements, which covered a wide range of sensor parameters (4-18 GHz, multiple incidence angles, polarizations, bandwidths), were made at 5 different locations within the 100 km x 10 km study region in Northern Colorado and spanned a wide range of dry snowpack conditions.

Recent improvements in the portability and accuracy of our Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar system, incorporating a new lightweight sled for improved mobility, allowed continuous measurements to be made from the centimeter to the kilometer scale. Measurements were made with the radar mounted 0.5 m above the snow surface, which with post-processing can be used to estimate snow depth, SWE, and the location of major stratigraphic boundaries. The radar was also mounted at a height of 2.3 m (far-field) at oblique incidence angles of 30 and 45 degrees to simulate backscatter as measured over the study site by a coincident airborne Ku-band scatterometer, as well as to make backscatter measurements covering a wide range of sensor parameters. All radar measurements were geo-located with survey-grade GPS (2-10 cm accuracy). As an initial step in the interpretation of this large database, in this paper we focus on radar-derived snow depth estimates at three different sites with depths spanning more than an order of magnitude (0.05 0.98 m), and compare them quantitatively with the coincident manual depth measurements.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	snow depth, snow water equivalent, remote sensing, microwave radar, snow hydrology
Subjects:	F600 Geology F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences
Department:	Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Paul Burns
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2014 11:47
Last Modified:	13 Oct 2019 00:24
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/18346

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