Research Article

Ground-based frequency-modulated continuous wave radar measurements in wet and dry snowpacks, Colorado, USA: an analysis and summary of the 2002–03 NASA CLPX data

  1. Hans-Peter Marshall1,2,*,
  2. Gary Koh3,
  3. Richard R. Forster4

Article first published online: 13 DEC 2004

DOI: 10.1002/hyp.5804

Issue

Hydrological Processes

Hydrological Processes

Special Issue: Eastern Snow Conference/Western Snow Conference

Volume 18, Issue 18, pages 3609–3622, 30 December 2004

Additional Information

How to Cite

Marshall, H.-P., Koh, G. and Forster, R. R. (2004), Ground-based frequency-modulated continuous wave radar measurements in wet and dry snowpacks, Colorado, USA: an analysis and summary of the 2002–03 NASA CLPX data. Hydrological Processes, 18: 3609–3622. doi: 10.1002/hyp.5804

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA

  2. 2

    Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF), CH-7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland

  3. 3

    US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755-1290, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Geography, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9155, USA

*INSTAAR, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1560 30th St, Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 DEC 2004
  2. Article first published online: 13 DEC 2004
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 10 SEP 2004
  4. Manuscript Received: 15 JUN 2004

Funded by

  • NASA Earth Systems Science Fellowship. Grant Number: R-ESSF/03-0000-026

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Keywords:

  • snow;
  • microwave radar;
  • snow water equivalent (SWE);
  • remote sensing;
  • CLPX

Abstract

Ground-based frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar measurements made throughout the 2002–03 NASA Cold Lands Processes (CLPX) mission in Colorado, USA, were designed to study the major electromagnetic transitions within the alpine snowpack over a wide range of conditions, and their effect on measurements made with different active radar measurement parameters. Measurements during 2002 determined that measurements at C-, X-, and Ku-band frequencies were necessary to retrieve the most snowpack information in a wide range of conditions. Measurements at four different incidence angles indicated that the snowpack layering was still visible at 15° but that the rough surface scattering of the snow–ground interface dominated the signal above 30° incidence. Measurements during 2003 were focused on characterizing the microwave response at C-, X-, and Ku-band frequencies at four different sites with different snowpack conditions, indicating that the optimal measurement parameters vary with snowpack conditions. Measurements at different bandwidths illustrate the effect of bandwidth on vertical resolution. This ground-truth data will help interpretation of air- and space-borne active and passive microwave radar measurements that were made coincident with this study. In addition, this work may help guide future researchers when choosing FMCW radar measurement parameters, depending on the type of snowpack information their study requires. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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