Snow Water Equivalent Retrieval Using Delta-k Insar Repeat Pass Processing of Envisat Asar Data

Estimation of total snow mass by means of SAR interferometry is problematic, due to high sensitivity of the interferometric phase to the snow water equivalent, leading to the phase unwrapping problem. In this paper, we pursue a recently proposed technique, delta-k interferometric phase estimation, that avoids phase wrapping by lowering the sensitivity of the interferometric phase to the snow water equivalent. The technique is applied to ENVISAT ASAR data from a test site containing a catchment for a hydropower plant. Corner reflectors are deployed in the area as zero snow phase reference points.