Qualitative and quantitative analysis of snow parameters using passive microwave remote sensing

Snow cover is an important variable for climatic and hydrologic models due to its effect on surface albedo, energy, and mass balance. Satellite observations successfully provide a global and comprehensive hemispheric-scale record of the short-term, as well as inter-seasonal variations in snow cover. Passive microwave sensors provide an excellent method to monitor temporal and spatial variations in large-scale snow cover parameters, overcoming problems of cloud cover. Using microwave remote sensing data, snow parameters (snow surface temperature, snow water equivalence, scattering index, emissivity, snow depth) have been retrieved to integrate with the snow cover simulation model developed by SASE for avalanche risk assessment on regional basis. Multispectral and multitemporal brightness temperature data obtained from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I), flown onboard the DMSP satellites, for the period November 2000 to April 2001 and from November 2001 to February 2002 have been analysed. A comparative data set on snow measurements and meteorological observations of a region covering large area of Pir-Panjal and the Greater Himalayan range, available on near real time basis from SASE field observatories were also used. Model calculations were carried out to study the effects of atmospheric transmission on the microwave radiation emitted from the snow covered and snow free ground and atmosphere. The sensitivity of combinations of the SSM/I channels at 19, 37 and 85 GHz, in both horizontal and vertical polarizations, in respect to snow depth, surface temperature of the snowpack have been carried out. Decision rule based algorithms are developed to identify snow cover and non-snow area.