Articles | Volume 10, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1495-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1495-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 Jul 2016
Research article |
| 18 Jul 2016
Design of a scanning laser meter for monitoring the spatio-temporal evolution of snow depth and its application in the Alps and in Antarctica
Ghislain Picard
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
UGA/CNRS, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE) UMR 5183, Grenoble, 38041, France
ACE CRC, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 80, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
Laurent Arnaud
UGA/CNRS, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE) UMR 5183, Grenoble, 38041, France
Jean-Michel Panel
Météo-France – CNRS, CNRM UMR 3589, Centre d'Études de la Neige, Grenoble, France
Samuel Morin
Météo-France – CNRS, CNRM UMR 3589, Centre d'Études de la Neige, Grenoble, France
Viewed
Total article views: 4,137 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
Cumulative views and downloads
(calculated since 30 Mar 2016)
| HTML | XML | Total | BibTeX | EndNote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,344 | 1,561 | 232 | 4,137 | 265 | 309 |
- HTML: 2,344
- PDF: 1,561
- XML: 232
- Total: 4,137
- BibTeX: 265
- EndNote: 309
Total article views: 3,361 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
Cumulative views and downloads
(calculated since 18 Jul 2016)
| HTML | XML | Total | BibTeX | EndNote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,939 | 1,197 | 225 | 3,361 | 259 | 304 |
- HTML: 1,939
- PDF: 1,197
- XML: 225
- Total: 3,361
- BibTeX: 259
- EndNote: 304
Total article views: 776 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
Cumulative views and downloads
(calculated since 30 Mar 2016)
| HTML | XML | Total | BibTeX | EndNote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 405 | 364 | 7 | 776 | 6 | 5 |
- HTML: 405
- PDF: 364
- XML: 7
- Total: 776
- BibTeX: 6
- EndNote: 5
Cited
16 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Evaluating sensitivity of optical snow grain size retrievals to radiative transfer models, shape parameters, and inversion techniques J. Dillon et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2913-2025
- Review of Earth science research using terrestrial laser scanning J. Telling et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.04.007
- Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet A. Zuhr et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021
- Influence of snow surface properties on L-band brightness temperature at Dome C, Antarctica M. Leduc-Leballeur et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.07.035
- Investigation of a wind-packing event in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica C. Sommer et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2923-2018
- Snow accumulation and ablation measurements in a midlatitude mountain coniferous forest (Col de Porte, France, 1325 m altitude): the Snow Under Forest (SnoUF) field campaign data set J. Sicart et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5121-2023
- European In-Situ Snow Measurements: Practices and Purposes R. Pirazzini et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18072016
- Time‐Lapse Photogrammetry of Distributed Snow Depth During Snowmelt S. Filhol et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024530
- Towards Operational Fiducial Reference Measurement (FRM) Data for the Calibration and Validation of the Sentinel-3 Surface Topography Mission over Inland Waters, Sea Ice, and Land Ice E. Da Silva et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15194826
- 57 years (1960–2017) of snow and meteorological observations from a mid-altitude mountain site (Col de Porte, France, 1325 m of altitude) Y. Lejeune et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-71-2019
- Full Winter Season Measurement of Snowpack Height and Backscattering Coefficient Using a 120-GHz Ultrawideband FMCW Radar V. Herráiz-López et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2025.3585426
- Observation of the process of snow accumulation on the Antarctic Plateau by time lapse laser scanning G. Picard et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1983-2019
- Archival processes of the water stable isotope signal in East Antarctic ice cores M. Casado et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1745-2018
- Low Cost and Compact FMCW 24 GHz Radar Applications for Snowpack and Ice Thickness Measurements P. Pomerleau et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20143909
- Why do the dark and light ogives of Forbes bands have similar surface mass balances? C. VINCENT et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.12
- Water Isotopic Signature of Surface Snow Metamorphism in Antarctica M. Casado et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093382
16 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Evaluating sensitivity of optical snow grain size retrievals to radiative transfer models, shape parameters, and inversion techniques J. Dillon et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2913-2025
- Review of Earth science research using terrestrial laser scanning J. Telling et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.04.007
- Local-scale deposition of surface snow on the Greenland ice sheet A. Zuhr et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021
- Influence of snow surface properties on L-band brightness temperature at Dome C, Antarctica M. Leduc-Leballeur et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.07.035
- Investigation of a wind-packing event in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica C. Sommer et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2923-2018
- Snow accumulation and ablation measurements in a midlatitude mountain coniferous forest (Col de Porte, France, 1325 m altitude): the Snow Under Forest (SnoUF) field campaign data set J. Sicart et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5121-2023
- European In-Situ Snow Measurements: Practices and Purposes R. Pirazzini et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18072016
- Time‐Lapse Photogrammetry of Distributed Snow Depth During Snowmelt S. Filhol et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024530
- Towards Operational Fiducial Reference Measurement (FRM) Data for the Calibration and Validation of the Sentinel-3 Surface Topography Mission over Inland Waters, Sea Ice, and Land Ice E. Da Silva et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15194826
- 57 years (1960–2017) of snow and meteorological observations from a mid-altitude mountain site (Col de Porte, France, 1325 m of altitude) Y. Lejeune et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-71-2019
- Full Winter Season Measurement of Snowpack Height and Backscattering Coefficient Using a 120-GHz Ultrawideband FMCW Radar V. Herráiz-López et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2025.3585426
- Observation of the process of snow accumulation on the Antarctic Plateau by time lapse laser scanning G. Picard et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1983-2019
- Archival processes of the water stable isotope signal in East Antarctic ice cores M. Casado et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1745-2018
- Low Cost and Compact FMCW 24 GHz Radar Applications for Snowpack and Ice Thickness Measurements P. Pomerleau et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20143909
- Why do the dark and light ogives of Forbes bands have similar surface mass balances? C. VINCENT et al. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.12
- Water Isotopic Signature of Surface Snow Metamorphism in Antarctica M. Casado et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093382
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 05 Jun 2026
Short summary
A cost-effective automatic laser scan has been built to measure snow depth spatio-temporal variations. Deployed in the Alps and in Dome C (Antarctica), two devices acquired daily scans covering a surface area of 100–150 m2. The precision and long-term stability of the measurements are about 1 cm and the accuracy is better than 5 cm. These high performances are particularly suited at Dome C, where it was possible to reveal that most of the accumulation in the year 2015 stems from a single event.
A cost-effective automatic laser scan has been built to measure snow depth spatio-temporal...
