Snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the La Joie Basin, British Columbia
Snowmelt runoff serves both human needs and ecosystem services and is an important parameter in operational forecasting systems. Sentinel-1 synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) observations can estimate the timing of melt within a snowpack; however, these estimates have not been applied on large spatial s...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c97eb8c4415242e38c56ce57154ce536 2023-05-15T18:32:29+02:00 Snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the La Joie Basin, British Columbia S. E. Darychuk J. M. Shea B. Menounos A. Chesnokova G. Jost F. Weber 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1457-2023 https://doaj.org/article/c97eb8c4415242e38c56ce57154ce536 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/1457/2023/tc-17-1457-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-1457-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/c97eb8c4415242e38c56ce57154ce536 The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 1457-1473 (2023) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1457-2023 2023-04-09T00:33:19Z Snowmelt runoff serves both human needs and ecosystem services and is an important parameter in operational forecasting systems. Sentinel-1 synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) observations can estimate the timing of melt within a snowpack; however, these estimates have not been applied on large spatial scales. Here we present a workflow to combine Sentinel-1 SAR and optical data from Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 to estimate the onset and duration of snowmelt in the La Joie Basin, a 985 km 2 watershed in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. A backscatter threshold is used to infer the point at which snowpack saturation occurs and the snowpack begins to produce runoff. Multispectral imagery is used to estimate snow-free dates across the basin to define the end of the snowmelt period. SAR estimates of snowmelt onset form consistent trends in terms of elevation and aspect on the watershed scale and reflect snowmelt records from continuous snow water equivalence observations. SAR estimates of snowpack saturation are most effective on moderate to low slopes ( < 30 ∘ ) in open areas. The accuracy of snowmelt duration is reduced due to persistent cloud cover in optical imagery. Despite these challenges, snowmelt duration agrees with trends in snow depths observed in the La Joie Basin. This approach has high potential for adaptability to other alpine regions and can provide estimates of snowmelt timing in ungauged basins. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 17 4 1457 1473 |
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 S. E. Darychuk J. M. Shea B. Menounos A. Chesnokova G. Jost F. Weber Snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the La Joie Basin, British Columbia |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Snowmelt runoff serves both human needs and ecosystem services and is an important parameter in operational forecasting systems. Sentinel-1 synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) observations can estimate the timing of melt within a snowpack; however, these estimates have not been applied on large spatial scales. Here we present a workflow to combine Sentinel-1 SAR and optical data from Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 to estimate the onset and duration of snowmelt in the La Joie Basin, a 985 km 2 watershed in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. A backscatter threshold is used to infer the point at which snowpack saturation occurs and the snowpack begins to produce runoff. Multispectral imagery is used to estimate snow-free dates across the basin to define the end of the snowmelt period. SAR estimates of snowmelt onset form consistent trends in terms of elevation and aspect on the watershed scale and reflect snowmelt records from continuous snow water equivalence observations. SAR estimates of snowpack saturation are most effective on moderate to low slopes ( < 30 ∘ ) in open areas. The accuracy of snowmelt duration is reduced due to persistent cloud cover in optical imagery. Despite these challenges, snowmelt duration agrees with trends in snow depths observed in the La Joie Basin. This approach has high potential for adaptability to other alpine regions and can provide estimates of snowmelt timing in ungauged basins. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
S. E. Darychuk J. M. Shea B. Menounos A. Chesnokova G. Jost F. Weber |
author_facet |
S. E. Darychuk J. M. Shea B. Menounos A. Chesnokova G. Jost F. Weber |
author_sort |
S. E. Darychuk |
title |
Snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the La Joie Basin, British Columbia |
title_short |
Snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the La Joie Basin, British Columbia |
title_full |
Snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the La Joie Basin, British Columbia |
title_fullStr |
Snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the La Joie Basin, British Columbia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the La Joie Basin, British Columbia |
title_sort |
snowmelt characterization from optical and synthetic-aperture radar observations in the la joie basin, british columbia |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1457-2023 https://doaj.org/article/c97eb8c4415242e38c56ce57154ce536 |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 1457-1473 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/1457/2023/tc-17-1457-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-1457-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/c97eb8c4415242e38c56ce57154ce536 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1457-2023 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1457 |
op_container_end_page |
1473 |
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1766216605153361920 |