The temporal and spatial continuity of spatially distributed estimates of snow-covered area (SCA) are limited by the availability of cloud-free satellite imagery; this also affects spatial estimates of snow water equivalent (SWE), as SCA can be used to define the extent of snow telemetry (SNOTEL) point SWE interpolation. In order to extend the continuity of these estimates in time and space to ...

Climate change has a complex effect on snow at the regional scale. The change in snow patterns under climate change remains unknown for certain regions. Here, we used high spatiotemporal resolution snow-related variables simulated by a weather research and forecast model (WRF) including snowfall, snow water equivalent and snow depth along with fractional snow cover (FSC) data extracted from Mod...

RADARSAT and ERS-2 data collected at multiple incidence angles are used to characterize the seasonal variations in the backscatter of snow-covered landscapes in the northern Hudson Bay Lowlands during the winters of 1997/98 and 1998/99. The study evaluates the usefulness of C-band SAR systems for retrieving the snow water equivalent under dry snow conditions in the forest–tundra ecotone. The ba...

Airborne polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is used for estimating stem volume of a Finnish boreal forest by comparing different empirical models. Its capability for retrieval of snow water equivalent is then explored. Fully polarimetric Land C-band data were acquired over a Finnish test site in March and May 1995. The information content was explored qualitatively by inspecting polari...

Seasonal snow plays a vital role in the world’s water resources. In some areas, seasonal snow melt provides water for agriculture, industry, hydro-electricity generation and urban water supply. Accurate estimate of the snow depth and its characteristics allows determination of the water content of the snow pack. This determination is very important in water management regimes. This paper presen...