Comparison of Asar Data and Radarsat-1 Data for Cryospheric Applications in Canada – the Case of Snow Water Equivalent

Amongst the potential applications of SAR data in Canada, snow monitoring has certainly been one catching the interest of many. In the 90’s, INRS worked on an approach that would combine SAR data (ERS-1, RADARSAT-1) and field measurements for SWE estimation (EQeau model). After an exhaustive sensitivity analysis of this model, some improvements were done. The approach was then ready to be tested with ENVISAT-ASAR data. This study shows that in HH polarization, they are very comparable to RADARSAT-1 data and that they could produce similar SWE maps. ASAR alternate polarization were also tested but co-polarization ratios (HH/HV) did not present any conclusive relationship with the spatial distribution of snow water equivalent. However, further tests have to be performed to really assess the potential contribution of co-polarization data in this application.