Item: AIRBORNE AND SPACEBORNE SNOW REMOTE SENSING WITH OPTICAL AND MICROWAVE SENSORS: A REVIEW OF CURRENT APPROACHES AND FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR AVALANCHE APPLICATIONS
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Title: AIRBORNE AND SPACEBORNE SNOW REMOTE SENSING WITH OPTICAL AND MICROWAVE SENSORS: A REVIEW OF CURRENT APPROACHES AND FUTURE OUTLOOK FOR AVALANCHE APPLICATIONS
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2023, Bend, Oregon
Authors:
- Hans-Peter Marshall [ Cryosphere Geophysics and Remote Sensing (CryoGARS), Boise State, Boise, ID, USA ]
- Yves Bühler [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, 7260 Davos, Switzerland ] [ Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Center CERC, 7260 Davos, Switzerland ]
Date: 2023-10-08
Abstract: Remote sensing of snow is one of the more challenging targets for many spaceborne sensors, due to the high spatiotemporal resolution required to capture the important dynamics. The regular measurement of snow covered area, or where snow exists, has been operational for many decades, however estimating snow depth or mass at the required resolution in mountain environments remains challenging. Avalanche applications have the most challenging requirements for spatial and temporal resolution (meters, days), which so far has limited application of remote sensing for avalanche forecasting and science. However, during the past decade, new techniques using optical imagery and microwave radar are showing promise for mapping snow depth and avalanches from space, as well as presence of melt, and InSAR approaches show potential for mapping depth and SWE change at weekly intervals. Both optical and SAR approaches have been used with increasing accuracy for mapping avalanche events, and the spatial and temporal resolution of snow products is getting much closer to the requirements for forecasting and management operations. However, the bottleneck is the sound validation of the products. Over the coming decade, resolution will continue to increase, large validation datasets are becoming available, and some exciting new satellites are planned to launch that will provide snow information that is likely to be useful for both, avalanche scientists and practitioners. This presentation will overview progress in snow remote sensing from drone, aircraft, and spaceborne platforms over the past decade, and will highlight future snow data products that are likely to be of interest to the avalanche field.
Object ID: ISSW2023_O10.01.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Hans-Peter Marshall
Keywords: remote sensing, radar, lidar, structure-from-motion
Page Number(s): 1052 - 1057
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