Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)

<p>Continuous and spatially distributed data of snow mass (water equivalent of snow cover, SWE) from automatic ground-based measurements are increasingly required for climate change studies and for hydrological applications (snow hydrological-model improvement and data assimilation). We presen...

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Autores principales:	A. Royer, A. Roy, S. Jutras, A. Langlois
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Copernicus Publications 2021
Materias:	Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f321eb4bdd9f4e26a1d2b7c1376ba531
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f321eb4bdd9f4e26a1d2b7c1376ba5312021-11-04T12:54:09ZReview article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)10.5194/tc-15-5079-20211994-04161994-0424https://doaj.org/article/f321eb4bdd9f4e26a1d2b7c1376ba5312021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/5079/2021/tc-15-5079-2021.pdfhttps://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424<p>Continuous and spatially distributed data of snow mass (water equivalent of snow cover, SWE) from automatic ground-based measurements are increasingly required for climate change studies and for hydrological applications (snow hydrological-model improvement and data assimilation). We present and compare four new-generation sensors, now commercialized, that are non-invasive and based on different radiations that interact with snow for SWE monitoring: cosmic-ray neutron probe (CRNP), gamma ray monitoring (GMON) scintillator, frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar (FMCW radar) at 24 GHz and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers (GNSSr). All four techniques have relatively low power requirements, provide continuous and autonomous SWE measurements, and can be easily installed in remote areas. A performance assessment of their advantages, drawbacks and uncertainties is discussed from experimental comparisons and a literature review. Relative uncertainties are estimated to range between 9 % and 15 % when compared to manual in situ snow surveys that are also discussed. Results show the following. (1) CRNP can be operated in two modes of functioning: beneath the snow, it is the only system able to measure very deep snowpacks (<span class="inline-formula"><i>></i></span> 2000 mm w.e.) with reasonable uncertainty across a wide range of measurements; CRNP placed above the snow allows for SWE measurements over a large footprint (<span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 20 ha) above a shallow snowpack. In both cases, CRNP needs ancillary atmospheric measurements for SWE retrieval. (2) GMON is the most mature instrument for snowpacks that are typically up to 800 mm w.e. Both CRNP (above snow) and GMON are sensitive to surface soil moisture. (3) FMCW radar needs auxiliary snow-depth measurements for SWE retrieval and is not recommended for automatic SWE monitoring (limited to dry snow). FMCW radar is very sensitive to wet snow, making it a very useful sensor for melt detection (e.g., wet avalanche forecasts). (4) GNSSr allows three key snowpack parameters to be estimated simultaneously: SWE (range: 0–1000 mm w.e.), snow depth and liquid water content, according to the retrieval algorithm that is used. Its low cost, compactness and low mass suggest a strong potential for GNSSr application in remote areas.</p>A. RoyerA. RoyerA. RoyA. RoyS. JutrasA. LangloisA. LangloisCopernicus PublicationsarticleEnvironmental sciencesGE1-350GeologyQE1-996.5ENThe Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 5079-5098 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5
spellingShingle	Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 A. Royer A. Royer A. Roy A. Roy S. Jutras A. Langlois A. Langlois Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)
description	<p>Continuous and spatially distributed data of snow mass (water equivalent of snow cover, SWE) from automatic ground-based measurements are increasingly required for climate change studies and for hydrological applications (snow hydrological-model improvement and data assimilation). We present and compare four new-generation sensors, now commercialized, that are non-invasive and based on different radiations that interact with snow for SWE monitoring: cosmic-ray neutron probe (CRNP), gamma ray monitoring (GMON) scintillator, frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar (FMCW radar) at 24 GHz and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers (GNSSr). All four techniques have relatively low power requirements, provide continuous and autonomous SWE measurements, and can be easily installed in remote areas. A performance assessment of their advantages, drawbacks and uncertainties is discussed from experimental comparisons and a literature review. Relative uncertainties are estimated to range between 9 % and 15 % when compared to manual in situ snow surveys that are also discussed. Results show the following. (1) CRNP can be operated in two modes of functioning: beneath the snow, it is the only system able to measure very deep snowpacks (<span class="inline-formula"><i>></i></span> 2000 mm w.e.) with reasonable uncertainty across a wide range of measurements; CRNP placed above the snow allows for SWE measurements over a large footprint (<span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 20 ha) above a shallow snowpack. In both cases, CRNP needs ancillary atmospheric measurements for SWE retrieval. (2) GMON is the most mature instrument for snowpacks that are typically up to 800 mm w.e. Both CRNP (above snow) and GMON are sensitive to surface soil moisture. (3) FMCW radar needs auxiliary snow-depth measurements for SWE retrieval and is not recommended for automatic SWE monitoring (limited to dry snow). FMCW radar is very sensitive to wet snow, making it a very useful sensor for melt detection (e.g., wet avalanche forecasts). (4) GNSSr allows three key snowpack parameters to be estimated simultaneously: SWE (range: 0–1000 mm w.e.), snow depth and liquid water content, according to the retrieval algorithm that is used. Its low cost, compactness and low mass suggest a strong potential for GNSSr application in remote areas.</p>
format	article
author	A. Royer A. Royer A. Roy A. Roy S. Jutras A. Langlois A. Langlois
author_facet	A. Royer A. Royer A. Roy A. Roy S. Jutras A. Langlois A. Langlois
author_sort	A. Royer
title	Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)
title_short	Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)
title_full	Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)
title_fullStr	Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)
title_full_unstemmed	Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)
title_sort	review article: performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (swe)
publisher	Copernicus Publications
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f321eb4bdd9f4e26a1d2b7c1376ba531
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Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)

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