Sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the European Alps
Seasonal snow is an essential water resource in many mountain regions. However, the spatio-temporal variability in mountain snow depth or snow water equivalent (SWE) at regional to global scales is not well understood due to the lack of high-resolution satellite observations and robust retrieval alg...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4497bd48775e4f0680d62b6bcdd5c1b8 2023-05-15T18:32:27+02:00 Sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the European Alps H. Lievens I. Brangers H.-P. Marshall T. Jonas M. Olefs G. De Lannoy 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-159-2022 https://doaj.org/article/4497bd48775e4f0680d62b6bcdd5c1b8 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/159/2022/tc-16-159-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-159-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/4497bd48775e4f0680d62b6bcdd5c1b8 The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 159-177 (2022) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-159-2022 2022-12-31T11:28:06Z Seasonal snow is an essential water resource in many mountain regions. However, the spatio-temporal variability in mountain snow depth or snow water equivalent (SWE) at regional to global scales is not well understood due to the lack of high-resolution satellite observations and robust retrieval algorithms. We investigate the ability of the Sentinel-1 mission to monitor snow depth at sub-kilometer (100 m , 500 m , and 1 km ) resolutions over the European Alps for 2017–2019. The Sentinel-1 backscatter observations, especially in cross-polarization, show a high correlation with regional model simulations of snow depth over Austria and Switzerland. The observed changes in radar backscatter with the accumulation or ablation of snow are used in an empirical change detection algorithm to retrieve snow depth. The algorithm includes the detection of dry and wet snow conditions. Compared to in situ measurements at 743 sites in the European Alps, dry snow depth retrievals at 500 m and 1 km resolution have a spatio-temporal correlation of 0.89. The mean absolute error equals 20 % –30 % of the measured values for snow depths between 1.5 and 3 m . The performance slightly degrades for retrievals at the finer 100 m spatial resolution as well as for retrievals of shallower and deeper snow. The results demonstrate the ability of Sentinel-1 to provide snow estimates in mountainous regions where satellite-based estimates of snow mass are currently lacking. The retrievals can improve our knowledge of seasonal snow mass in areas with complex topography and benefit a number of applications, such as water resource management, flood forecasting, and numerical weather prediction. However, future research is recommended to further investigate the physical basis of the sensitivity of Sentinel-1 backscatter observations to snow accumulation. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Sentinel ENVELOPE(73.317,73.317,-52.983,-52.983) The Cryosphere 16 1 159 177 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 H. Lievens I. Brangers H.-P. Marshall T. Jonas M. Olefs G. De Lannoy Sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the European Alps |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Seasonal snow is an essential water resource in many mountain regions. However, the spatio-temporal variability in mountain snow depth or snow water equivalent (SWE) at regional to global scales is not well understood due to the lack of high-resolution satellite observations and robust retrieval algorithms. We investigate the ability of the Sentinel-1 mission to monitor snow depth at sub-kilometer (100 m , 500 m , and 1 km ) resolutions over the European Alps for 2017–2019. The Sentinel-1 backscatter observations, especially in cross-polarization, show a high correlation with regional model simulations of snow depth over Austria and Switzerland. The observed changes in radar backscatter with the accumulation or ablation of snow are used in an empirical change detection algorithm to retrieve snow depth. The algorithm includes the detection of dry and wet snow conditions. Compared to in situ measurements at 743 sites in the European Alps, dry snow depth retrievals at 500 m and 1 km resolution have a spatio-temporal correlation of 0.89. The mean absolute error equals 20 % –30 % of the measured values for snow depths between 1.5 and 3 m . The performance slightly degrades for retrievals at the finer 100 m spatial resolution as well as for retrievals of shallower and deeper snow. The results demonstrate the ability of Sentinel-1 to provide snow estimates in mountainous regions where satellite-based estimates of snow mass are currently lacking. The retrievals can improve our knowledge of seasonal snow mass in areas with complex topography and benefit a number of applications, such as water resource management, flood forecasting, and numerical weather prediction. However, future research is recommended to further investigate the physical basis of the sensitivity of Sentinel-1 backscatter observations to snow accumulation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
H. Lievens I. Brangers H.-P. Marshall T. Jonas M. Olefs G. De Lannoy |
author_facet |
H. Lievens I. Brangers H.-P. Marshall T. Jonas M. Olefs G. De Lannoy |
author_sort |
H. Lievens |
title |
Sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the European Alps |
title_short |
Sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the European Alps |
title_full |
Sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the European Alps |
title_fullStr |
Sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the European Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the European Alps |
title_sort |
sentinel-1 snow depth retrieval at sub-kilometer resolution over the european alps |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-159-2022 https://doaj.org/article/4497bd48775e4f0680d62b6bcdd5c1b8 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(73.317,73.317,-52.983,-52.983) |
geographic |
The Sentinel |
geographic_facet |
The Sentinel |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 159-177 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/159/2022/tc-16-159-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-159-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/4497bd48775e4f0680d62b6bcdd5c1b8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-159-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
159 |
op_container_end_page |
177 |
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1766216567659429888 |