NOVEL SNOW DEPTH RETRIEVAL METHOD USING TIME SERIES SSMI PASSIVE MICROWAVE IMAGERY

Snow Retrieval Algorithm for Passive Microwave Remote Sensing Using Dense Media Radiative Transfer Theory

The Quasi-crystalline Approximation and the Dense Media Radiative Transfer Equation (QCADMRT) have been applied to active and passive microwave remote sensing of snow [1] [2]. The salient features of the model include weaker frequency dependence than Mie scattering for the same grain size and a stronger forward scattering than Rayleigh phase function. We use passive microwave satellite data fro...

Inter-Calibrating SMMR, SSM/I and SSMI/S Data to Improve the Consistency of Snow-Depth Products in China

Long-term snow depth/snow water equivalent (SWE) products derived from passive microwave remote sensing data are fundamental for climatological and hydrological studies. However, the temporal continuity of the products is affected by the updating or replacement of passive microwave sensors or satellite platforms. In this study, we inter-calibrated brightness temperature (Tb) data obtained from ...

Preliminary Assessment of the Impact of Lakes on Passive Microwave Snow Retrieval Algorithms in the Arctic

The retrieval of snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow depth (SD) information from passive microwave brightness temperatures is theoretically straightforward: as the depth and/or density of snow increases, so too does the amount of volume scatter of naturally emitted microwave energy. Shorter wavelength energy (i.e. 37 GHz) is more readily scattered than longer wavelength energy (i.e. 19 GHz), s...

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

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 mass, and signal saturation when snow is deep (~>80 cm). The use of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) at suitable frequencies has been suggested as a pot...

Snow Monitoring Using Microwave Radars