Item: SNOWAVE: a novel FMCW radar architecture for snow cover monitoring
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Title: SNOWAVE: a novel FMCW radar architecture for snow cover monitoring
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2018, Innsbruck, Austria
Authors:
- P. F. Espin-Lopez [ Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy ]
- M. Barbolini [ Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy ] [ FLOW-ING Srl, La Spezia, Italy ]
- E. Ceaglio [ Ufficio Neve e Valanghe, Fondazione Montagna Sicura, Aosta, Italy ]
- F. Dell’Acqua [ Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy ] [ Ticinum Aerospace srl, Pavia, Italy ]
- P. Dellavedova [ Ufficio Neve e Valanghe, Fondazione Montagna Sicura, Aosta, Italy ]
- L. Silvestri [ Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy ]
- M. Pasian [ Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy ]
Date: 2018-10-07
Abstract: Snow avalanches are a persistent risk for several Alpine infrastructures. Cost-effective strategies for risk mitigation invariably require avalanche forecasting tools, based upon knowledge of several physical parameters of the snowpack. Currently, the most common measuring method for these parameters relies on manual analysis of snowpack through in-situ excavation of snow pits. This method, although time-consuming, is usually very accurate, but for safety reasons it cannot be applied when and where most needed (e.g. along critical slopes under bad weather conditions). In order to get around these constraints, systems based on the use of microwave radars have been proposed. Such systems can deliver a rapid, non-destructive, and possibly automatic analysis of the snow structure. While very promising, however, standard radar architectures cannot deliver, without external aids, measures of snow depth and its physical parameters at the same time, thus strongly limiting the accuracy and applicability of this approach. This paper presents a novel stand-alone dual-receiver FMCW radar architecture, called SNOWAVE, capable of simultaneously measuring propagation distance, wave speed and attenuation within the medium. In this way, snow depth, density, and liquid water content can all be estimated at the same time without the aid of additional sensors. Experimental results from field tests at elevations above 3000 m in the Italian Alps are also presented to show the feasibility and potential of this innovative approach.
Object ID: ISSW2018_P07.14.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s):
Keywords: snow cover monitoring, snowpack monitoring, snow stratigraphy, upward-looking radar, dualreceiver architecture, liquid water content (LWC)
Page Number(s): 685-689
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