Brief communication: Application of a muonic cosmic ray snow gauge to monitor the snow water equivalent on alpine glaciers

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: R. Gugerli, D. Desilets, N. Salzmann
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2022
• Subjects: geo; envir; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-799-2022; https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/799/2022/tc-16-799-2022.pdf; https://doaj.org/article/c67920ff2c6142c7aa7d343c5e7fbcff

Monitoring the snow water equivalent (SWE) in the harsh environments of high mountain regions is a challenge. Here, we explore the use of muon counts to infer SWE. We deployed a muonic cosmic ray snow gauge (μ-CRSG) on a Swiss glacier during the snow-rich winter season 2020/21 (almost 2000 mm w.e.). The μ-CRSG measurements agree well with measurements by a neutronic cosmic ray snow gauge (n-CRSG), and they lie within the uncertainty of manual observations. We conclude that the μ-CRSG is a highly promising method to monitor SWE in remote high mountain environments with several advantages over the n-CRSG.