Measuring Snow Depth with a Terrestrial Laser Ranging System

Knowledge on the spatial and temporal distribution of snow depth is one of the key parameter in the assessment of avalanche hazards, for snow drift and avalanche modelling and model verification. Reliable measurements of snow depth distribution are of interest for practitioners as well as for scientists. Most of the conventional methods like snow pits, probing or profiling deliver point information or transects of snow depth, snow density or snow water equivalent. At that, direct (in situ) measurements are chancy in High Alpine terrain. To overcome these restrictions, remote monitoring techniques are applied. Terrestrial scanning lidar survey represents a powerful tool to map inaccessible alpine terrain. In winter 2005/2006 numerous measurements with the terrestrial scanning lidar have been done at the test site in the Wattener Lizum (Tyrol, Austria). The analysis of the repeated surveys provide changes in the depth of the snow cover.