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22 Results Found

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,725 Views
23 Pages

A Snow Water Equivalent Retrieval Framework Coupling 1D Hydrology and Passive Microwave Radiative Transfer Models

  • Yuanhao Cao,
  • Chunzeng Luo,
  • Shurun Tan,
  • Do-Hyuk Kang and ,
  • Yiwen Fang and
  • Jinmei Pan
  • + 1 author+ 0 author

14 May 2024

The retrieval of continuous snow water equivalent (SWE) directly from passive microwave observations is hampered by ambiguity, which can potentially be mitigated by incorporating knowledge on snow hydrological processes. In this paper, we present a d...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advancements in the Field of Remote Sensing in Land Surface Processes)
  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
4,853 Views
24 Pages

Spatiotemporal Variations in Liquid Water Content in a Seasonal Snowpack: Implications for Radar Remote Sensing

  • Randall Bonnell,
  • Daniel McGrath,
  • Keith Williams,
  • Ryan Webb and ,
  • Steven R. Fassnacht and
  • Hans-Peter Marshall
  • + 1 author+ 0 author

21 October 2021

Radar instruments have been widely used to measure snow water equivalent (SWE) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar is a promising approach for doing so from spaceborne platforms. Electromagnetic waves propagate through the snowpack at a velo...

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology)
  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
4,274 Views
19 Pages

5 July 2021

Falling snow alters its own microwave signatures when it begins to accumulate on the ground, making retrieval of snowfall challenging. This paper investigates the effects of snow-cover depth and cloud liquid water content on microwave signatures of t...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Precipitation at the Mid- to High-Latitudes)
  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
3,104 Views
22 Pages

Evaluating the Preconditions of Two Remote Sensing SWE Retrieval Algorithms over the US

  • Shadi Oveisgharan,
  • Daniel Esteban-Fernandez,
  • Duane Waliser,
  • Randall Friedl and ,
  • Son Nghiem and
  • Xubin Zeng
  • + 1 author+ 0 author

24 June 2020

A large amount of fresh water resources are stored in the snowpack, which is the primary source of water for streamflow in many places at middle-to-high latitude areas. Therefore, snow water equivalent (SWE) is a key parameter in the water cycle. Act...

  • Article
  • Open Access
52 Citations
9,772 Views
18 Pages

Estimating Snow Water Equivalent with Backscattering at X and Ku Band Based on Absorption Loss

  • Yurong Cui,
  • Chuan Xiong,
  • Juha Lemmetyinen,
  • Jiancheng Shi and ,
  • Lingmei Jiang,
  • Bin Peng,
  • Huixuan Li,
  • Tianjie Zhao,
  • Dabin Ji and
  • Tongxi Hu
  • + 5 authors+ 0 author

16 June 2016

Snow water equivalent (SWE) is a key parameter in the Earth’s energy budget and water cycle. It has been demonstrated that SWE can be retrieved using active microwave remote sensing from space. This necessitates the development of forward models that...

  • Letter
  • Open Access
37 Citations
6,766 Views
11 Pages

7 April 2020

This paper deals with the retrieval of snow depth (SD) and snow water equivalent (SWE) using dual-polarization (HH-VV) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. The effect of different snowpack conditions on the SD and SWE inversion accuracy was demonstra...

(This article belongs to the Section Remote Sensing Perspective)
  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
57 Citations
8,864 Views
28 Pages

Retrieval of Effective Correlation Length and Snow Water Equivalent from Radar and Passive Microwave Measurements

  • Juha Lemmetyinen,
  • Chris Derksen,
  • Helmut Rott,
  • Giovanni Macelloni and ,
  • Josh King,
  • Martin Schneebeli,
  • Andreas Wiesmann,
  • Leena Leppänen,
  • Anna Kontu and
  • Jouni Pulliainen
  • + 5 authors+ 0 author

25 January 2018

Current methods for retrieving SWE (snow water equivalent) from space rely on passive microwave sensors. Observations are limited by poor spatial resolution, ambiguities related to separation of snow microstructural properties from the total snow mas...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwave Indices from Active and Passive Sensors for Remote Sensing Applications)
  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
5,594 Views
25 Pages

26 December 2023

Efficient water resource management in glacier- and snow-dominated basins requires accurate estimates of the snow water equivalent (SWE) in late winter and spring and melt onset timing and intensity. To understand the high spatio-temporal variability...

(This article belongs to the Topic Hydrology and Water Resources Management)
  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
5,767 Views
19 Pages

14 December 2018

Snow depletion curves (SDC) are functions that are used to show the relationship between snow covered area and snow depth or water equivalent. Previous snow cover data assimilation (DA) studies have used theoretical SDC models as observation operator...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Snow and Its Applications)
  • Article
  • Open Access
37 Citations
7,802 Views
11 Pages

1 November 2016

Snow contributes to regional and global water budgets, and is of critical importance to water resources management and our society. Along with advancement in remote sensing tools and techniques to retrieve snowfall, verification and refinement of the...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Uncertainties in Remote Sensing)
  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
8,229 Views
16 Pages

10 May 2017

For four decades, satellite-based passive microwave sensors have provided valuable snow water equivalent (SWE) monitoring at a global scale. Before continuous long-term SWE records can be used for scientific or applied purposes, consistency of SWE me...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Snow Remote Sensing)
  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
9,244 Views
19 Pages

Advances in Snow Hydrology Using a Combined Approach of GNSS In Situ Stations, Hydrological Modelling and Earth Observation—A Case Study in Canada

  • Florian Appel,
  • Franziska Koch,
  • Anja Rösel,
  • Philipp Klug and ,
  • Patrick Henkel,
  • Markus Lamm,
  • Wolfram Mauser and
  • Heike Bach
  • + 3 authors+ 0 author

The availability of in situ snow water equivalent (SWE), snowmelt and run-off measurements is still very limited especially in remote areas as the density of operational stations and field observations is often scarce and usually costly, labour-inten...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Snow and Its Applications)
  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
1,421 Views
28 Pages

Multi-Band Differential SAR Interferometry for Snow Water Equivalent Retrieval over Alpine Mountains

  • Fabio Bovenga,
  • Antonella Belmonte,
  • Alberto Refice and
  • Ilenia Argentiero

17 July 2025

Snow water equivalent (SWE) can be estimated using Differential SAR Interferometry (DInSAR), which captures changes in snow depth and density between two SAR acquisitions. However, challenges arise due to SAR signal penetration into the snowpack and...

(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Remote Sensing)
  • Article
  • Open Access
1,109 Views
42 Pages

18 February 2026

Accurate estimation of snowpack microwave backscatter is critical for retrieving key physical properties of snow, such as snow depth (SD) and snow water equivalent (SWE), typically modeled using radiative transfer models (RTM). Among the various sour...

  • Article
  • Open Access
27 Citations
7,571 Views
31 Pages

26 February 2019

The snow-fed river basins of the Near East region are facing an urgent threat in the form of declining water resources. In this study, we analyzed several remote sensing products (optical, passive microwave, and gravimetric) and outputs of a meteorol...

  • Article
  • Open Access
564 Views
24 Pages

18 June 2026

Snow cover fraction (SCF) records derived from optical satellite sensors such as AVHRR are systematically interrupted by cloud contamination and polar night conditions, leaving large spatiotemporal data gaps that limit their utility for climate and h...

  • Article
  • Open Access
41 Citations
11,611 Views
21 Pages

Automated Webcam Monitoring of Fractional Snow Cover in Northern Boreal Conditions

  • Ali Nadir Arslan,
  • Cemal Melih Tanis,
  • Sari Metsämäki,
  • Mika Aurela and ,
  • Kristin Böttcher,
  • Maiju Linkosalmi and
  • Mikko Peltoniemi
  • + 2 authors+ 0 author

Fractional snow cover (FSC) is an important parameter to estimate snow water equivalent (SWE) and surface albedo important to climatic and hydrological applications. The presence of forest creates challenges to retrieve FSC accurately from satellite...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cryosphere)
  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
4,291 Views
19 Pages

20 December 2018

UWScat, a ground-based Ku- and X-band scatterometer, was used to compare forested and non-forested landscapes in a terrestrial snow accumulation environment as part of the NASA SnowEx17 field campaign. Field observations from Trail Valley Creek, Nort...

(This article belongs to the Section Forest Remote Sensing)
  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
4,979 Views
26 Pages

The Consistency of SSM/I vs. SSMIS and the Influence on Snow Cover Detection and Snow Depth Estimation over China

  • Jianwei Yang,
  • Lingmei Jiang,
  • Liyun Dai,
  • Jinmei Pan and ,
  • Shengli Wu and
  • Gongxue Wang
  • + 1 author+ 0 author

11 August 2019

The long-term variations in snow depth are important in hydrological, meteorological, and ecological implications and climatological studies. The series of Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) in...

  • Article
  • Open Access
14 Citations
3,164 Views
18 Pages

Validation of Cloud-Gap-Filled Snow Cover of MODIS Daily Cloud-Free Snow Cover Products on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

  • Yecheng Yuan,
  • Baolin Li,
  • Xizhang Gao,
  • Wei Liu and ,
  • Ying Li and
  • Rui Li
  • + 1 author+ 0 author

8 November 2022

Accurate daily snow cover extent is a significant input for hydrological applications in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Although several Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily cloud-free snow cover products over the QTP...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Snow and Glacier Hydrology)
  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
4,041 Views
19 Pages

2 August 2022

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are narrow bands of enhanced integrated water vapor transport, modulated by large-scale and synoptic-scale variability. Here, we investigate how ARs and snowpack are shaped by large-scale variability such as arctic oscillatio...

(This article belongs to the Section Hydrology)
  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
5,913 Views
18 Pages

16 October 2018

Passive microwave measurements have been available on satellites back to the 1970s, first flown on research satellites developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Since then, several other sensors have been flown to retriev...

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Essential Climate Variables and Their Applications)