Articles | Volume 11, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1933-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1933-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
23 Aug 2017
Research article |
| 23 Aug 2017
Evaluation of snow cover and snow depth on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau derived from passive microwave remote sensing
Liyun Dai
Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing of Gansu Province, Heihe Remote Sensing Experimental Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering
Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing 21003, China
Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing of Gansu Province, Heihe Remote Sensing Experimental Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering
Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yongjian Ding
State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Xiaohua Hao
Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing of Gansu Province, Heihe Remote Sensing Experimental Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering
Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Related authors
Huadong Wang, Xueliang Zhang, Pengfeng Xiao, Tao Che, Zhaojun Zheng, Liyun Dai, and Wenbo Luan
The Cryosphere, 17, 33–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-33-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-33-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The geographically and temporally weighted neural network (GTWNN) model is constructed for estimating large-scale daily snow density by integrating satellite, ground, and reanalysis data, which addresses the importance of spatiotemporal heterogeneity and a nonlinear relationship between snow density and impact variables, as well as allows us to understand the spatiotemporal pattern and heterogeneity of snow density in different snow periods and snow cover regions in China from 2013 to 2020.
Wei Wan, Jie Zhang, Liyun Dai, Hong Liang, Ting Yang, Baojian Liu, Zhizhou Guo, Heng Hu, and Limin Zhao
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3549–3571, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3549-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3549-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The GSnow-CHINA data set is a snow depth data set developed using the two Global Navigation Satellite System station networks in China. It includes snow depth of 24, 12, and 2/3/6 h records, if possible, for 80 sites from 2013–2022 over northern China (25–55° N, 70–140° E). The footprint of the data set is ~ 1000 m2, and it can be used as an independent data source for validation purposes. It is also useful for regional climate research and other meteorological and hydrological applications.
Liyun Dai, Tao Che, Yang Zhang, Zhiguo Ren, Junlei Tan, Meerzhan Akynbekkyzy, Lin Xiao, Shengnan Zhou, Yuna Yan, Yan Liu, Hongyi Li, and Lifu Wang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3509–3530, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3509-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3509-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
An Integrated Microwave Radiometry Campaign for Snow (IMCS) was conducted to collect ground-based passive microwave and optical remote-sensing data, snow pit and underlying soil data, and meteorological parameters. The dataset is unique in continuously providing electromagnetic and physical features of snowpack and environment. The dataset is expected to serve the evaluation and development of microwave radiative transfer models and snow process models, along with land surface process models.
Yanxing Hu, Tao Che, Liyun Dai, Yu Zhu, Lin Xiao, Jie Deng, and Xin Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-63, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-63, 2022
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a data fusion framework based on the random forest regression algorithm to derive a comprehensive snow depth product for the Northern Hemisphere from 1980 to 2019. This new fused snow depth dataset not only provides information about snow depth and its variation over the Northern Hemisphere but also presents potential value for hydrological and water cycle studies related to seasonal snowpacks.
Jie Deng, Tao Che, Cunde Xiao, Shijin Wang, Liyun Dai, and Akynbekkyzy Meerzhan
The Cryosphere, 13, 2149–2167, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2149-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2149-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Chinese ski industry is rapidly booming driven by enormous market demand and government support with the coming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. We evaluate the locational suitability of ski areas in China by integrating the natural and socioeconomic conditions. Corresponding development strategies for decision-makers are proposed based on the multi-criteria metrics, which will be extended to incorporate potential influences from future climate change and socioeconomic development.
Xufeng Wang, Tao Che, Jingfeng Xiao, Tonghong Wang, Junlei Tan, Yang Zhang, Zhiguo Ren, Liying Geng, Haibo Wang, Ziwei Xu, Shaomin Liu, and Xin Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-370, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-370, 2024
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, carbon flux and auxiliary meteorological data were post-processed to create an analysis-ready dataset for 34 sites across six ecosystems in the Heihe River Basin. Eighteen sites have multi-year observations, while 16 were observed only during the 2012 growing season, totaling 1,513 site-months. This dataset can be used to explore carbon exchange, assess ecosystem responses to climate change, support upscaling studies, and evaluate carbon cycle models.
Yaoming Ma, Zhipeng Xie, Yingying Chen, Shaomin Liu, Tao Che, Ziwei Xu, Lunyu Shang, Xiaobo He, Xianhong Meng, Weiqiang Ma, Baiqing Xu, Huabiao Zhao, Junbo Wang, Guangjian Wu, and Xin Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3017–3043, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3017-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3017-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Current models and satellites struggle to accurately represent the land–atmosphere (L–A) interactions over the Tibetan Plateau. We present the most extensive compilation of in situ observations to date, comprising 17 years of data on L–A interactions across 12 sites. This quality-assured benchmark dataset provides independent validation to improve models and remote sensing for the region, and it enables new investigations of fine-scale L–A processes and their mechanistic drivers.
Xia Wang, Tao Che, Xueyin Ruan, Shanna Yue, Jing Wang, Chun Zhao, and Lei Geng
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2024-37, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2024-37, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for GMD
Short summary
Short summary
We employed the WRF-Chem model to parameterize atmospheric nitrate deposition in snow and evaluated its performance in simulating snow cover, snow depth, and concentrations of black carbon (BC), dust, and nitrate using new observations from Northern China. The results generally exhibit reasonable agreement with field observations in northern China, demonstrating the model's capability to simulate snow properties, including concentrations of reservoir species.
Jia Qin, Yongjian Ding, Faxiang Shi, Junhao Cui, Yaping Chang, Tianding Han, and Qiudong Zhao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 973–987, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-973-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-973-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The linkage between the seasonal hydrothermal change of active layer, suprapermafrost groundwater, and surface runoff, which has been regarded as a “black box” in hydrological analyses and simulations, is a bottleneck problem in permafrost hydrological studies. Based on field observations, this study identifies seasonal variations and causes of suprapermafrost groundwater. The linkages and framework of watershed hydrology responding to the freeze–thaw of the active layer also are explored.
Shaomin Liu, Ziwei Xu, Tao Che, Xin Li, Tongren Xu, Zhiguo Ren, Yang Zhang, Junlei Tan, Lisheng Song, Ji Zhou, Zhongli Zhu, Xiaofan Yang, Rui Liu, and Yanfei Ma
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 4959–4981, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4959-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4959-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present a suite of observational datasets from artificial and natural oases–desert systems that consist of long-term turbulent flux and auxiliary data, including hydrometeorological, vegetation, and soil parameters, from 2012 to 2021. We confirm that the 10-year, long-term dataset presented in this study is of high quality with few missing data, and we believe that the data will support ecological security and sustainable development in oasis–desert areas.
Huadong Wang, Xueliang Zhang, Pengfeng Xiao, Tao Che, Zhaojun Zheng, Liyun Dai, and Wenbo Luan
The Cryosphere, 17, 33–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-33-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-33-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The geographically and temporally weighted neural network (GTWNN) model is constructed for estimating large-scale daily snow density by integrating satellite, ground, and reanalysis data, which addresses the importance of spatiotemporal heterogeneity and a nonlinear relationship between snow density and impact variables, as well as allows us to understand the spatiotemporal pattern and heterogeneity of snow density in different snow periods and snow cover regions in China from 2013 to 2020.
Hui Guo, Xiaoyan Wang, Zecheng Guo, Gaofeng Zhu, Tao Che, Jian Wang, Xiaodong Huang, Chao Han, and Zhiqi Ouyang
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-229, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-229, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Snow phenology is a seasonal pattern in snow cover and snowfall. In this review, we found that during the past 50 years in the Northern Hemisphere, the snow cover end date has shown a significantly advanced change trend. Eurasia contributes more to the snow phenology in the Northern Hemisphere than does North America. Snow phenology is related to climate and atmospheric circulation, and the response to vegetation phenology depends on geographical regions, temperature and precipitation gradients.
Wei Wan, Jie Zhang, Liyun Dai, Hong Liang, Ting Yang, Baojian Liu, Zhizhou Guo, Heng Hu, and Limin Zhao
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3549–3571, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3549-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3549-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The GSnow-CHINA data set is a snow depth data set developed using the two Global Navigation Satellite System station networks in China. It includes snow depth of 24, 12, and 2/3/6 h records, if possible, for 80 sites from 2013–2022 over northern China (25–55° N, 70–140° E). The footprint of the data set is ~ 1000 m2, and it can be used as an independent data source for validation purposes. It is also useful for regional climate research and other meteorological and hydrological applications.
Liyun Dai, Tao Che, Yang Zhang, Zhiguo Ren, Junlei Tan, Meerzhan Akynbekkyzy, Lin Xiao, Shengnan Zhou, Yuna Yan, Yan Liu, Hongyi Li, and Lifu Wang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3509–3530, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3509-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3509-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
An Integrated Microwave Radiometry Campaign for Snow (IMCS) was conducted to collect ground-based passive microwave and optical remote-sensing data, snow pit and underlying soil data, and meteorological parameters. The dataset is unique in continuously providing electromagnetic and physical features of snowpack and environment. The dataset is expected to serve the evaluation and development of microwave radiative transfer models and snow process models, along with land surface process models.
Yanxing Hu, Tao Che, Liyun Dai, Yu Zhu, Lin Xiao, Jie Deng, and Xin Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-63, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-63, 2022
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a data fusion framework based on the random forest regression algorithm to derive a comprehensive snow depth product for the Northern Hemisphere from 1980 to 2019. This new fused snow depth dataset not only provides information about snow depth and its variation over the Northern Hemisphere but also presents potential value for hydrological and water cycle studies related to seasonal snowpacks.
Donghang Shao, Hongyi Li, Jian Wang, Xiaohua Hao, Tao Che, and Wenzheng Ji
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 795–809, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-795-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-795-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The temporal series and spatial distribution discontinuity of the existing snow water equivalent (SWE) products in the pan-Arctic region severely restricts the use of SWE data in cryosphere change and climate change studies. Using a ridge regression machine learning algorithm, this study developed a set of spatiotemporally seamless and high-precision SWE products. This product could contribute to the study of cryosphere change and climate change at large spatial scales.
Xiaohua Hao, Guanghui Huang, Tao Che, Wenzheng Ji, Xingliang Sun, Qin Zhao, Hongyu Zhao, Jian Wang, Hongyi Li, and Qian Yang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4711–4726, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4711-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4711-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term snow cover data are not only of importance for climate research. Currently China still lacks a high-quality snow cover extent (SCE) product for climate research. This study develops a multi-level decision tree algorithm for cloud and snow discrimination and gap-filled technique based on AVHRR surface reflectance data. We generate a daily 5 km SCE product across China from 1981 to 2019. It has high accuracy and will serve as baseline data for climate and other applications.
Jiahua Zhang, Lin Liu, Lei Su, and Tao Che
The Cryosphere, 15, 3021–3033, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3021-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3021-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We improve the commonly used GPS-IR algorithm for estimating surface soil moisture in permafrost areas, which does not consider the bias introduced by seasonal surface vertical movement. We propose a three-in-one framework to integrate the GPS-IR observations of surface elevation changes, soil moisture, and snow depth at one site and illustrate it by using a GPS site in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. This study is the first to use GPS-IR to measure environmental variables in the Tibetan Plateau.
Junfeng Liu, Rensheng Chen, Yongjian Ding, Chuntan Han, Yong Yang, Zhangwen Liu, Xiqiang Wang, Shuhai Guo, Yaoxuan Song, and Wenwu Qing
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-67, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2020-67, 2020
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
we try to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of albedo, micro scale surface roughness, and LAIs, with the objective to better understanding and simulating surface albedo variability over snow and dirty ice surface at the August-one ice cap in Qilian Mountain. Snow and ice surface albedo parameterization methods are established based on either surface roughness or both surface roughness and LAIs.
Jia Qin, Yongjian Ding, Tianding Han, Junhao Li, Shaoping Wang, and Yaping Chang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-626, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-626, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Based on the spatial-temporal variations of runoff, river ice, snowmelt and water-energy budgets, as well as Arctic index, we found that the lowest, mean, and highest monthly discharge of Eurasian rivers had large zonal differences and different trends during 1951–2015, especially after the late 1990s. River-ice is a dominate factor in winter runoff variation. A
warm Arctic-large dischargeand a
warm Arctic- few dischargepattern exist in different latitudes of Eurasia after the late 1990s.
Tao Che, Xin Li, Shaomin Liu, Hongyi Li, Ziwei Xu, Junlei Tan, Yang Zhang, Zhiguo Ren, Lin Xiao, Jie Deng, Rui Jin, Mingguo Ma, Jian Wang, and Xiaofan Yang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1483–1499, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1483-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1483-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The paper presents a suite of datasets consisting of long-term hydrometeorological, snow cover and frozen ground data for investigating watershed science and functions from an integrated, distributed and multiscale observation network in the upper reaches of the Heihe River Basin in China. These data are expected to serve as a testing platform to provide accurate forcing data and validate and evaluate remote-sensing products and hydrological models in cold regions for a broader community.
Jie Deng, Tao Che, Cunde Xiao, Shijin Wang, Liyun Dai, and Akynbekkyzy Meerzhan
The Cryosphere, 13, 2149–2167, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2149-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2149-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Chinese ski industry is rapidly booming driven by enormous market demand and government support with the coming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. We evaluate the locational suitability of ski areas in China by integrating the natural and socioeconomic conditions. Corresponding development strategies for decision-makers are proposed based on the multi-criteria metrics, which will be extended to incorporate potential influences from future climate change and socioeconomic development.
Yu Qin, Shuhua Yi, Yongjian Ding, Wei Zhang, Yan Qin, Jianjun Chen, and Zhiwei Wang
Biogeosciences, 16, 1097–1109, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1097-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1097-2019, 2019
Shuhua Yi, Yujie He, Xinlei Guo, Jianjun Chen, Qingbai Wu, Yu Qin, and Yongjian Ding
The Cryosphere, 12, 3067–3083, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3067-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3067-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Coarse-fragment soil on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau has different thermal and hydrological properties to soils commonly used in modeling studies. We took soil samples and measured their physical properties in a laboratory, which were used in a model to simulate their effects on permafrost dynamics. Model errors were reduced using the measured properties, in which porosity played an dominant role.
Xiaodong Huang, Jie Deng, Xiaofang Ma, Yunlong Wang, Qisheng Feng, Xiaohua Hao, and Tiangang Liang
The Cryosphere, 10, 2453–2463, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2453-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2453-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Integrated snow products were used to analyze the temporal and spatial variation of the snow cover in China during 2000–2014. The results indicated that the overall annual number of snow-covered days and average snow depth in China have increased in the past 14 years, but differences in the snow cover variation in China were significant. Overall, the snow cover increased significantly in south and northeast China, but decreased significantly in Xinjiang and the Tibetan Plateau.
Related subject area
Remote Sensing
The Pléiades Glacier Observatory: high-resolution digital elevation models and ortho-imagery to monitor glacier change
Multitemporal UAV lidar detects seasonal heave and subsidence on palsas
Evaluating snow depth retrievals from Sentinel-1 volume scattering over NASA SnowEx sites
Pan-Arctic sea ice concentration from SAR and passive microwave
Land surface temperature trends derived from Landsat imagery in the Swiss Alps
A framework for automated supraglacial lake detection and depth retrieval in ICESat-2 photon data across the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets
Improved snow property retrievals by solving for topography in the inversion of at-sensor radiance measurements
Change in grounding line location on the Antarctic Peninsula measured using a tidal motion offset correlation method
Land cover succession for recently drained lakes in permafrost on the Yamal Peninsula, Western Siberia
Assessing sea ice microwave emissivity up to submillimeter waves from airborne and satellite observations
Simulation of Arctic snow microwave emission in surface-sensitive atmosphere channels
AWI-ICENet1: a convolutional neural network retracker for ice altimetry
Monthly velocity and seasonal variations of the Mont Blanc glaciers derived from Sentinel-2 between 2016 and 2024
Retrieval of snow and soil properties for forward radiative transfer modeling of airborne Ku-band SAR to estimate snow water equivalent: the Trail Valley Creek 2018/19 snow experiment
Evaluating L-band InSAR snow water equivalent retrievals with repeat ground-penetrating radar and terrestrial lidar surveys in northern Colorado
Toward long-term monitoring of regional permafrost thaw with satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar
Improved records of glacier flow instabilities using customized NASA autoRIFT (CautoRIFT) applied to PlanetScope imagery
Benchmarking passive microwave satellite derived freeze/thaw datasets
Reanalyzing the spatial representativeness of snow depth at automated monitoring stations using airborne lidar data
The AutoICE Challenge
Five decades of Abramov glacier dynamics reconstructed with multi-sensor optical remote sensing
Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data
Tower-based C-band radar measurements of an alpine snowpack
A study of sea ice topography in the Weddell and Ross seas using dual-polarimetric TanDEM-X imagery
Estimating differential penetration of green (532 nm) laser light over sea ice with NASA's Airborne Topographic Mapper: observations and models
Mapping surface hoar from near-infrared texture in a laboratory
Sentinel-1 detection of ice slabs on the Greenland Ice Sheet
Estimating the uncertainty of sea-ice area and sea-ice extent from satellite retrievals
Thermal infrared shadow-hiding in GOES-R ABI imagery: snow and forest temperature observations from the SnowEx 2020 Grand Mesa field campaign
Sea ice transport and replenishment across and within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, 2016–2022
SAR deep learning sea ice retrieval trained with airborne laser scanner measurements from the MOSAiC expedition
Lake ice break-up in Greenland: timing and spatiotemporal variability
Temperature-dominated spatiotemporal variability in snow phenology on the Tibetan Plateau from 2002 to 2022
Temporal stability of a new 40-year daily AVHRR Land Surface Temperature dataset for the Pan-Arctic region
MMSeaIce: a collection of techniques for improving sea ice mapping with a multi-task model
Snow water equivalent retrieved from X- and dual Ku-band scatterometer measurements at Sodankylä using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method
Lead fractions from SAR-derived sea ice divergence during MOSAiC
Bayesian physical–statistical retrieval of snow water equivalent and snow depth from X- and Ku-band synthetic aperture radar – demonstration using airborne SnowSAr in SnowEx'17
A low-cost and open-source approach for supraglacial debris thickness mapping using UAV-based infrared thermography
Snow water equivalent retrieval over Idaho – Part 1: Using Sentinel-1 repeat-pass interferometry
Passive microwave remote-sensing-based high-resolution snow depth mapping for Western Himalayan zones using multifactor modeling approach
Refined glacial lake extraction in a high-Asia region by deep neural network and superpixel-based conditional random field methods
Retrieval of snow water equivalent from dual-frequency radar measurements: using time series to overcome the need for accurate a priori information
Ice floe segmentation and floe size distribution in airborne and high-resolution optical satellite images: towards an automated labelling deep learning approach
Annual to seasonal glacier mass balance in High Mountain Asia derived from Pléiades stereo images: examples from the Pamir and the Tibetan Plateau
Snow accumulation, albedo and melt patterns following road construction on permafrost, Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway, Canada
Co-registration and residual correction of digital elevation models: a comparative study
Out-of-the-box calving-front detection method using deep learning
Snow Depth Estimation on Lead-less Landfast ice using Cryo2Ice satellite observations
Mapping the extent of giant Antarctic icebergs with deep learning
Etienne Berthier, Jérôme Lebreton, Delphine Fontannaz, Steven Hosford, Joaquín Muñoz-Cobo Belart, Fanny Brun, Liss M. Andreassen, Brian Menounos, and Charlotte Blondel
The Cryosphere, 18, 5551–5571, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5551-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5551-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Repeat elevation measurements are crucial for monitoring glacier health and to understand how glaciers affect river flows and sea level. Until recently, high-resolution elevation data were mostly available for polar regions and High Mountain Asia. Our project, the Pléiades Glacier Observatory, now provides high-resolution topographies of 140 glacier sites worldwide. This is a novel and open dataset to monitor the impact of climate change on glaciers at high resolution and accuracy.
Cas Renette, Mats Olvmo, Sofia Thorsson, Björn Holmer, and Heather Reese
The Cryosphere, 18, 5465–5480, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5465-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5465-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We used a drone to monitor seasonal changes in the height of subarctic permafrost mounds (palsas). With five drone flights in 1 year, we found a seasonal fluctuation of ca. 15 cm as a result of freeze–thaw cycles. On one mound, a large area sank down between each flight as a result of permafrost thaw. The approach of using repeated high-resolution scans from such a drone is unique for such environments and highlights its effectiveness in capturing the subtle dynamics of permafrost landscapes.
Zachary Hoppinen, Ross T. Palomaki, George Brencher, Devon Dunmire, Eric Gagliano, Adrian Marziliano, Jack Tarricone, and Hans-Peter Marshall
The Cryosphere, 18, 5407–5430, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5407-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5407-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses radar imagery from the Sentinel-1 satellite to derive snow depth from increases in the returning energy. These retrieved depths are then compared to nine lidar-derived snow depths across the western United State to assess the ability of this technique to be used to monitor global snow distributions. We also qualitatively compare the changes in underlying Sentinel-1 amplitudes against both the total lidar snow depths and nine automated snow monitoring stations.
Tore Wulf, Jørgen Buus-Hinkler, Suman Singha, Hoyeon Shi, and Matilde Brandt Kreiner
The Cryosphere, 18, 5277–5300, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5277-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Here, we present ASIP: a new and comprehensive deep-learning-based methodology to retrieve high-resolution sea ice concentration with accompanying well-calibrated uncertainties from satellite-based active and passive microwave observations at a pan-Arctic scale for all seasons. In a comparative study against pan-Arctic ice charts and well-established passive-microwave-based sea ice products, we show that ASIP generalizes well to the pan-Arctic region.
Deniz Tobias Gök, Dirk Scherler, and Hendrik Wulf
The Cryosphere, 18, 5259–5276, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5259-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5259-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We derived Landsat Collection 2 land surface temperature (LST) trends in the Swiss Alps using a harmonic model with a linear trend. Validation with LST data from 119 high-altitude weather stations yielded robust results, but Landsat LST trends are biased due to unstable acquisition times. The bias varies with topographic slope and aspect. We discuss its origin and propose a simple correction method in relation to modeled changes in shortwave radiation.
Philipp Sebastian Arndt and Helen Amanda Fricker
The Cryosphere, 18, 5173–5206, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5173-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5173-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We develop a method for ice-sheet-scale retrieval of supraglacial meltwater depths using ICESat-2 photon data. We report results for two drainage basins in Greenland and Antarctica during two contrasting melt seasons, where our method reveals a total of 1249 lake segments up to 25 m deep. The large volume and wide variety of accurate depth data that our method provides enable the development of data-driven models of meltwater volumes in satellite imagery.
Brenton A. Wilder, Joachim Meyer, Josh Enterkine, and Nancy F. Glenn
The Cryosphere, 18, 5015–5029, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5015-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5015-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Remotely sensed properties of snow are dependent on accurate terrain information, which for a lot of the cryosphere and seasonal snow zones is often insufficient in accuracy. However, as we show in this paper, we can bypass this issue by optimally solving for the terrain by utilizing the raw radiance data returned to the sensor. This method performed well when compared to validation datasets and has the potential to be used across a variety of different snow climates.
Benjamin J. Wallis, Anna E. Hogg, Yikai Zhu, and Andrew Hooper
The Cryosphere, 18, 4723–4742, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4723-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4723-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The grounding line, where ice begins to float, is an essential variable to understand ice dynamics, but in some locations it can be challenging to measure with established techniques. Using satellite data and a new method, Wallis et al. measure the grounding line position of glaciers and ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula and find retreats of up to 16.3 km have occurred since the last time measurements were made in the 1990s.
Clemens von Baeckmann, Annett Bartsch, Helena Bergstedt, Aleksandra Efimova, Barbara Widhalm, Dorothee Ehrich, Timo Kumpula, Alexander Sokolov, and Svetlana Abdulmanova
The Cryosphere, 18, 4703–4722, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4703-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4703-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Lakes are common features in Arctic permafrost areas. Land cover change following their drainage needs to be monitored since it has implications for ecology and the carbon cycle. Satellite data are key in this context. We compared a common vegetation index approach with a novel land-cover-monitoring scheme. Land cover information provides specific information on wetland features. We also showed that the bioclimatic gradients play a significant role after drainage within the first 10 years.
Nils Risse, Mario Mech, Catherine Prigent, Gunnar Spreen, and Susanne Crewell
The Cryosphere, 18, 4137–4163, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4137-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4137-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Passive microwave observations from satellites are crucial for monitoring Arctic sea ice and atmosphere. To do this effectively, it is important to understand how sea ice emits microwaves. Through unique Arctic sea ice observations, we improved our understanding, identified four distinct emission types, and expanded current knowledge to include higher frequencies. These findings will enhance our ability to monitor the Arctic climate and provide valuable information for new satellite missions.
Melody Sandells, Nick Rutter, Kirsty Wivell, Richard Essery, Stuart Fox, Chawn Harlow, Ghislain Picard, Alexandre Roy, Alain Royer, and Peter Toose
The Cryosphere, 18, 3971–3990, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3971-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3971-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite microwave observations are used for weather forecasting. In Arctic regions this is complicated by natural emission from snow. By simulating airborne observations from in situ measurements of snow, this study shows how snow properties affect the signal within the atmosphere. Fresh snowfall between flights changed airborne measurements. Good knowledge of snow layering and structure can be used to account for the effects of snow and could unlock these data to improve forecasts.
Veit Helm, Alireza Dehghanpour, Ronny Hänsch, Erik Loebel, Martin Horwath, and Angelika Humbert
The Cryosphere, 18, 3933–3970, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3933-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3933-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a new approach (AWI-ICENet1), based on a deep convolutional neural network, for analysing satellite radar altimeter measurements to accurately determine the surface height of ice sheets. Surface height estimates obtained with AWI-ICENet1 (along with related products, such as ice sheet height change and volume change) show improved and unbiased results compared to other products. This is important for the long-term monitoring of ice sheet mass loss and its impact on sea level rise.
Fabrizio Troilo, Niccolò Dematteis, Francesco Zucca, Martin Funk, and Daniele Giordan
The Cryosphere, 18, 3891–3909, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3891-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3891-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The study of glacier sliding along slopes is relevant in many aspects of glaciology. We processed Sentinel-2 satellite optical images of Mont Blanc, obtaining surface velocities of 30 glaciers between 2016 and 2024. The study revealed different behaviours and velocity variations that have relationships with glacier morphology. A velocity anomaly was observed in some glaciers of the southern side in 2020–2022, but its origin needs to be investigated further.
Benoit Montpetit, Joshua King, Julien Meloche, Chris Derksen, Paul Siqueira, J. Max Adam, Peter Toose, Mike Brady, Anna Wendleder, Vincent Vionnet, and Nicolas R. Leroux
The Cryosphere, 18, 3857–3874, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3857-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3857-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper validates the use of free open-source models to link distributed snow measurements to radar measurements in the Canadian Arctic. Using multiple radar sensors, we can decouple the soil from the snow contribution. We then retrieve the "microwave snow grain size" to characterize the interaction between the snow mass and the radar signal. This work supports future satellite mission development to retrieve snow mass information such as the future Canadian Terrestrial Snow Mass Mission.
Randall Bonnell, Daniel McGrath, Jack Tarricone, Hans-Peter Marshall, Ella Bump, Caroline Duncan, Stephanie Kampf, Yunling Lou, Alex Olsen-Mikitowicz, Megan Sears, Keith Williams, Lucas Zeller, and Yang Zheng
The Cryosphere, 18, 3765–3785, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3765-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3765-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Snow provides water for billions of people, but the amount of snow is difficult to detect remotely. During the 2020 and 2021 winters, a radar was flown over mountains in Colorado, USA, to measure the amount of snow on the ground, while our team collected ground observations to test the radar technique’s capabilities. The technique yielded accurate measurements of the snowpack that had good correlation with ground measurements, making it a promising application for the upcoming NISAR satellite.
Taha Sadeghi Chorsi, Franz J. Meyer, and Timothy H. Dixon
The Cryosphere, 18, 3723–3740, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3723-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3723-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The active layer thaws and freezes seasonally. The annual freeze–thaw cycle of the active layer causes significant surface height changes due to the volume difference between ice and liquid water. We estimate the subsidence rate and active-layer thickness (ALT) for part of northern Alaska for summer 2017 to 2022 using interferometric synthetic aperture radar and lidar. ALT estimates range from ~20 cm to larger than 150 cm in area. Subsidence rate varies between close points (2–18 mm per month).
Jukes Liu, Madeline Gendreau, Ellyn Mary Enderlin, and Rainey Aberle
The Cryosphere, 18, 3571–3590, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3571-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3571-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
There are sometimes gaps in global glacier velocity records produced using satellite image feature-tracking algorithms during times of rapid glacier acceleration, which hinders the study of glacier flow processes. We present an open-source pipeline for customizing the feature-tracking parameters and for including images from an additional source. We applied it to five glaciers and found that it produced accurate velocity data that supplemented their velocity records during rapid acceleration.
Annett Bartsch, Xaver Muri, Markus Hetzenecker, Kimmo Rautiainen, Helena Bergstedt, Jan Wuite, Thomas Nagler, and Dmitry Nicolsky
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2518, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2518, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a robust freeze/thaw detection approach, applying a constant threshold on Copernicus Sentinel-1 data, that is suitable for tundra regions. All global, coarser resolution products, tested with the resulting benchmarking dataset, are of value for freeze/thaw retrieval, although differences were found depending on seasons, in particular during spring and autumn transition.
Jordan N. Herbert, Mark S. Raleigh, and Eric E. Small
The Cryosphere, 18, 3495–3512, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3495-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3495-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Automated stations measure snow properties at a single point but are frequently used to validate data that represent much larger areas. We use lidar snow depth data to see how often the mean snow depth surrounding a snow station is within 10 cm of the snow station depth at different scales. We found snow stations overrepresent the area-mean snow depth in ~ 50 % of cases, but the direction of bias at a site is temporally consistent, suggesting a site could be calibrated to the surrounding area.
Andreas Stokholm, Jørgen Buus-Hinkler, Tore Wulf, Anton Korosov, Roberto Saldo, Leif Toudal Pedersen, David Arthurs, Ionut Dragan, Iacopo Modica, Juan Pedro, Annekatrien Debien, Xinwei Chen, Muhammed Patel, Fernando Jose Pena Cantu, Javier Noa Turnes, Jinman Park, Linlin Xu, Katharine Andrea Scott, David Anthony Clausi, Yuan Fang, Mingzhe Jiang, Saeid Taleghanidoozdoozan, Neil Curtis Brubacher, Armina Soleymani, Zacharie Gousseau, Michał Smaczny, Patryk Kowalski, Jacek Komorowski, David Rijlaarsdam, Jan Nicolaas van Rijn, Jens Jakobsen, Martin Samuel James Rogers, Nick Hughes, Tom Zagon, Rune Solberg, Nicolas Longépé, and Matilde Brandt Kreiner
The Cryosphere, 18, 3471–3494, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3471-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3471-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The AutoICE challenge encouraged the development of deep learning models to map multiple aspects of sea ice – the amount of sea ice in an area and the age and ice floe size – using multiple sources of satellite and weather data across the Canadian and Greenlandic Arctic. Professionally drawn operational sea ice charts were used as a reference. A total of 179 students and sea ice and AI specialists participated and produced maps in broad agreement with the sea ice charts.
Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2169, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2169, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the evolution of terminus position, ice thickness and surface flow velocity of the reference Abramov glacier (Kyrgyzstan) from 1968 to present. We describe a front pulsation in the early 2000s and the multi-annual present-day buildup of a new pulsation. Such dynamic instabilities can challenge the representativity of Abramov as reference glacier. For our work we used satellite‑based optical remote sensing from multiple platforms, including recently declassified archives.
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Inés Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Andreas Kääb, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Désirée Treichler, Anja Wendt, and Ruitang Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 3195–3230, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world. In the present study, we compared the results produced from two different types of satellite data between different research groups and against validation measurements from aeroplanes. We found a large spread between individual results but showed that the group ensemble can be used to reliably estimate glacier elevation changes and related errors from satellite data.
Isis Brangers, Hans-Peter Marshall, Gabrielle De Lannoy, Devon Dunmire, Christian Mätzler, and Hans Lievens
The Cryosphere, 18, 3177–3193, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3177-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3177-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
To better understand the interactions between C-band radar waves and snow, a tower-based experiment was set up in the Idaho Rocky Mountains. The reflections were collected in the time domain to measure the backscatter profile from the various snowpack and ground surface layers. The results demonstrate that C-band radar is sensitive to seasonal patterns in snow accumulation but that changes in microstructure, stratigraphy and snow wetness may complicate satellite-based snow depth retrievals.
Lanqing Huang and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 18, 3117–3140, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3117-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3117-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Interferometric synthetic aperture radar can measure the total freeboard of sea ice but can be biased when radar signals penetrate snow and ice. We develop a new method to retrieve the total freeboard and analyze the regional variation of total freeboard and roughness in the Weddell and Ross seas. We also investigate the statistical behavior of the total freeboard for diverse ice types. The findings enhance the understanding of Antarctic sea ice topography and its dynamics in a changing climate.
Michael Studinger, Benjamin E. Smith, Nathan Kurtz, Alek Petty, Tyler Sutterley, and Rachel Tilling
The Cryosphere, 18, 2625–2652, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2625-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2625-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use green lidar data and natural-color imagery over sea ice to quantify elevation biases potentially impacting estimates of change in ice thickness of the polar regions. We complement our analysis using a model of scattering of light in snow and ice that predicts the shape of lidar waveforms reflecting from snow and ice surfaces based on the shape of the transmitted pulse. We find that biased elevations exist in airborne and spaceborne data products from green lidars.
James Dillon, Christopher Donahue, Evan Schehrer, Karl Birkeland, and Kevin Hammonds
The Cryosphere, 18, 2557–2582, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2557-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2557-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Surface hoar crystals are snow grains that form when vapor deposits on a snow surface. They create a weak layer in the snowpack that can cause large avalanches to occur. Thus, determining when and where surface hoar forms is a lifesaving matter. Here, we developed a means of mapping surface hoar using remote-sensing technologies. We found that surface hoar displayed heightened texture, hence the variability of brightness. Using this, we created surface hoar maps with an accuracy upwards of 95 %.
Riley Culberg, Roger J. Michaelides, and Julie Z. Miller
The Cryosphere, 18, 2531–2555, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2531-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2531-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice slabs enhance meltwater runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Therefore, it is important to understand their extent and change in extent over time. We present a new method for detecting ice slabs in satellite radar data, which we use to map ice slabs at 500 m resolution across the entire ice sheet in winter 2016–2017. Our results provide better spatial coverage and resolution than previous maps from airborne radar and lay the groundwork for long-term monitoring of ice slabs from space.
Andreas Wernecke, Dirk Notz, Stefan Kern, and Thomas Lavergne
The Cryosphere, 18, 2473–2486, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2473-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2473-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The total Arctic sea-ice area (SIA), which is an important climate indicator, is routinely monitored with the help of satellite measurements. Uncertainties in observations of sea-ice concentration (SIC) partly cancel out when summed up to the total SIA, but the degree to which this is happening has been unclear. Here we find that the uncertainty daily SIA estimates, based on uncertainties in SIC, are about 300 000 km2. The 2002 to 2017 September decline in SIA is approx. 105 000 ± 9000 km2 a−1.
Steven J. Pestana, C. Chris Chickadel, and Jessica D. Lundquist
The Cryosphere, 18, 2257–2276, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2257-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2257-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We compared infrared images taken by GOES-R satellites of an area with snow and forests against surface temperature measurements taken on the ground, from an aircraft, and by another satellite. We found that GOES-R measured warmer temperatures than the other measurements, especially in areas with more forest and when the Sun was behind the satellite. From this work, we learned that the position of the Sun and surface features such as trees that can cast shadows impact GOES-R infrared images.
Stephen E. L. Howell, David G. Babb, Jack C. Landy, Isolde A. Glissenaar, Kaitlin McNeil, Benoit Montpetit, and Mike Brady
The Cryosphere, 18, 2321–2333, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2321-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2321-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The CAA serves as both a source and a sink for sea ice from the Arctic Ocean, while also exporting sea ice into Baffin Bay. It is also an important region with respect to navigating the Northwest Passage. Here, we quantify sea ice transport and replenishment across and within the CAA from 2016 to 2022. We also provide the first estimates of the ice area and volume flux within the CAA from the Queen Elizabeth Islands to Parry Channel, which spans the central region of the Northwest Passage.
Karl Kortum, Suman Singha, Gunnar Spreen, Nils Hutter, Arttu Jutila, and Christian Haas
The Cryosphere, 18, 2207–2222, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2207-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2207-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A dataset of 20 radar satellite acquisitions and near-simultaneous helicopter-based surveys of the ice topography during the MOSAiC expedition is constructed and used to train a variety of deep learning algorithms. The results give realistic insights into the accuracy of retrieval of measured ice classes using modern deep learning models. The models able to learn from the spatial distribution of the measured sea ice classes are shown to have a clear advantage over those that cannot.
Christoph Posch, Jakob Abermann, and Tiago Silva
The Cryosphere, 18, 2035–2059, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2035-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2035-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Radar beams from satellites exhibit reflection differences between water and ice. This condition, as well as the comprehensive coverage and high temporal resolution of the Sentinel-1 satellites, allows automatically detecting the timing of when ice cover of lakes in Greenland disappear. We found that lake ice breaks up 3 d later per 100 m elevation gain and that the average break-up timing varies by ±8 d in 2017–2021, which has major implications for the energy budget of the lakes.
Jiahui Xu, Yao Tang, Linxin Dong, Shujie Wang, Bailang Yu, Jianping Wu, Zhaojun Zheng, and Yan Huang
The Cryosphere, 18, 1817–1834, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1817-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1817-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding snow phenology (SP) and its possible feedback are important. We reveal spatiotemporal heterogeneous SP on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the mediating effects from meteorological, topographic, and environmental factors on it. The direct effects of meteorology on SP are much greater than the indirect effects. Topography indirectly effects SP, while vegetation directly effects SP. This study contributes to understanding past global warming and predicting future trends on the TP.
Sonia Dupuis, Frank-Michael Göttsche, and Stefan Wunderle
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-857, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-857, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Arctic experienced pronounced warming throughout the last decades. This warming threatens ecosystems, vegetation dynamics, snow cover duration, and permafrost. Traditional monitoring methods like stations and climate models lack the detail needed. Land surface temperature (LST) data derived from satellites offers high spatial and temporal coverage, perfect for studying changes in the Arctic. In particular, LST information from AVHRR provides a 40-year record, valuable for analyzing trends.
Xinwei Chen, Muhammed Patel, Fernando J. Pena Cantu, Jinman Park, Javier Noa Turnes, Linlin Xu, K. Andrea Scott, and David A. Clausi
The Cryosphere, 18, 1621–1632, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1621-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1621-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper introduces an automated sea ice mapping pipeline utilizing a multi-task U-Net architecture. It attained the top score of 86.3 % in the AutoICE challenge. Ablation studies revealed that incorporating brightness temperature data and spatial–temporal information significantly enhanced model accuracy. Accurate sea ice mapping is vital for comprehending the Arctic environment and its global climate effects, underscoring the potential of deep learning.
Jinmei Pan, Michael Durand, Juha Lemmetyinen, Desheng Liu, and Jiancheng Shi
The Cryosphere, 18, 1561–1578, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1561-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1561-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We developed an algorithm to estimate snow mass using X- and dual Ku-band radar, and tested it in a ground-based experiment. The algorithm, the Bayesian-based Algorithm for SWE Estimation (BASE) using active microwaves, achieved an RMSE of 30 mm for snow water equivalent. These results demonstrate the potential of radar, a highly promising sensor, to map snow mass at high spatial resolution.
Luisa von Albedyll, Stefan Hendricks, Nils Hutter, Dmitrii Murashkin, Lars Kaleschke, Sascha Willmes, Linda Thielke, Xiangshan Tian-Kunze, Gunnar Spreen, and Christian Haas
The Cryosphere, 18, 1259–1285, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1259-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1259-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Leads (openings in sea ice cover) are created by sea ice dynamics. Because they are important for many processes in the Arctic winter climate, we aim to detect them with satellites. We present two new techniques to detect lead widths of a few hundred meters at high spatial resolution (700 m) and independent of clouds or sun illumination. We use the MOSAiC drift 2019–2020 in the Arctic for our case study and compare our new products to other existing lead products.
Siddharth Singh, Michael Durand, Edward Kim, and Ana P. Barros
The Cryosphere, 18, 747–773, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-747-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-747-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Seasonal snowfall accumulation plays a critical role in climate. The water stored in it is measured by the snow water equivalent (SWE), the amount of water released after completely melting. We demonstrate a Bayesian physical–statistical framework to estimate SWE from airborne X- and Ku-band synthetic aperture radar backscatter measurements constrained by physical snow hydrology and radar models. We explored spatial resolutions and vertical structures that agree well with ground observations.
Jérôme Messmer and Alexander Raphael Groos
The Cryosphere, 18, 719–746, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-719-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-719-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The lower part of mountain glaciers is often covered with debris. Knowing the thickness of the debris is important as it influences the melting and future evolution of the affected glaciers. We have developed an open-source approach to map variations in debris thickness on glaciers using a low-cost drone equipped with a thermal infrared camera. The resulting high-resolution maps of debris surface temperature and thickness enable more accurate monitoring and modelling of debris-covered glaciers.
Shadi Oveisgharan, Robert Zinke, Zachary Hoppinen, and Hans Peter Marshall
The Cryosphere, 18, 559–574, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-559-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-559-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The seasonal snowpack provides water resources to billions of people worldwide. Large-scale mapping of snow water equivalent (SWE) with high resolution is critical for many scientific and economics fields. In this work we used the radar remote sensing interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) to estimate the SWE change between 2 d. The error in the estimated SWE change is less than 2 cm for in situ stations. Additionally, the retrieved SWE using InSAR is correlated with lidar snow depth.
Dhiraj Kumar Singh, Srinivasarao Tanniru, Kamal Kant Singh, Harendra Singh Negi, and RAAJ Ramsankaran
The Cryosphere, 18, 451–474, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-451-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-451-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In situ techniques for snow depth (SD) measurement are not adequate to represent the spatiotemporal variability in SD in the Western Himalayan region. Therefore, this study focuses on the high-resolution mapping of daily snow depth in the Indian Western Himalayan region using passive microwave remote-sensing-based algorithms. Overall, the proposed multifactor SD models demonstrated substantial improvement compared to the operational products. However, there is a scope for further improvement.
Yungang Cao, Rumeng Pan, Meng Pan, Ruodan Lei, Puying Du, and Xueqin Bai
The Cryosphere, 18, 153–168, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-153-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-153-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study built a glacial lake dataset with 15376 samples in seven types and proposed an automatic method by two-stage (the semantic segmentation network and post-processing) optimizations to detect glacial lakes. The proposed method for glacial lake extraction has achieved the best results so far, in which the F1 score and IoU reached 0.945 and 0.907, respectively. The area of the minimum glacial lake that can be entirely and correctly extracted has been raised to the 100 m2 level.
Michael Durand, Joel T. Johnson, Jack Dechow, Leung Tsang, Firoz Borah, and Edward J. Kim
The Cryosphere, 18, 139–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-139-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-139-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Seasonal snow accumulates each winter, storing water to release later in the year and modulating both water and energy cycles, but the amount of seasonal snow is one of the most poorly measured components of the global water cycle. Satellite concepts to monitor snow accumulation have been proposed but not selected. This paper shows that snow accumulation can be measured using radar, and that (contrary to previous studies) does not require highly accurate information about snow microstructure.
Qin Zhang and Nick Hughes
The Cryosphere, 17, 5519–5537, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5519-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5519-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
To alleviate tedious manual image annotations for training deep learning (DL) models in floe instance segmentation, we employ a classical image processing technique to automatically label floes in images. We then apply a DL semantic method for fast and adaptive floe instance segmentation from high-resolution airborne and satellite images. A post-processing algorithm is also proposed to refine the segmentation and further to derive acceptable floe size distributions at local and global scales.
Daniel Falaschi, Atanu Bhattacharya, Gregoire Guillet, Lei Huang, Owen King, Kriti Mukherjee, Philipp Rastner, Tandong Yao, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 17, 5435–5458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Because glaciers are crucial freshwater sources in the lowlands surrounding High Mountain Asia, constraining short-term glacier mass changes is essential. We investigate the potential of state-of-the-art satellite elevation data to measure glacier mass changes in two selected regions. The results demonstrate the ability of our dataset to characterize glacier changes of different magnitudes, allowing for an increase in the number of inaccessible glaciers that can be readily monitored.
Jennika Hammar, Inge Grünberg, Steven V. Kokelj, Jurjen van der Sluijs, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 17, 5357–5372, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5357-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5357-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Roads on permafrost have significant environmental effects. This study assessed the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH) in Canada and its impact on snow accumulation, albedo and snowmelt timing. Our findings revealed that snow accumulation increased by up to 36 m from the road, 12-day earlier snowmelt within 100 m due to reduced albedo, and altered snowmelt patterns in seemingly undisturbed areas. Remote sensing aids in understanding road impacts on permafrost.
Tao Li, Yuanlin Hu, Bin Liu, Liming Jiang, Hansheng Wang, and Xiang Shen
The Cryosphere, 17, 5299–5316, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5299-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5299-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Raw DEMs are often misaligned with each other due to georeferencing errors, and a co-registration process is required before DEM differencing. We present a comparative analysis of the two classical DEM co-registration and three residual correction algorithms. The experimental results show that rotation and scale biases should be considered in DEM co-registration. The new non-parametric regression technique can eliminate the complex systematic errors, which existed in the co-registration results.
Oskar Herrmann, Nora Gourmelon, Thorsten Seehaus, Andreas Maier, Johannes J. Fürst, Matthias H. Braun, and Vincent Christlein
The Cryosphere, 17, 4957–4977, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4957-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4957-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Delineating calving fronts of marine-terminating glaciers in satellite images is a labour-intensive task. We propose a method based on deep learning that automates this task. We choose a deep learning framework that adapts to any given dataset without needing deep learning expertise. The method is evaluated on a benchmark dataset for calving-front detection and glacier zone segmentation. The framework can beat the benchmark baseline without major modifications.
Monojit Saha, Julienne Stroeve, Dustin Isleifson, John Yackel, Vishnu Nandan, Jack Christopher Landy, and Hoi Ming Lam
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2509, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2509, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Snow on sea ice is vital for near-shore sea ice geophysical and biological processes. Past studies have measured snow depths using satellite altimeters Cryosat-2 and ICESat-2 (Cryo2Ice) but estimating sea surface height from lead-less land-fast sea ice remains challenging. Snow depths from Cryo2Ice are compared to in-situ after adjusting for tides. Realistic snow depths are retrieved but difference in roughness, satellite footprints and snow geophysical properties are identified as challenges.
Anne Braakmann-Folgmann, Andrew Shepherd, David Hogg, and Ella Redmond
The Cryosphere, 17, 4675–4690, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4675-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4675-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we propose a deep neural network to map the extent of giant Antarctic icebergs in Sentinel-1 images automatically. While each manual delineation requires several minutes, our U-net takes less than 0.01 s. In terms of accuracy, we find that U-net outperforms two standard segmentation techniques (Otsu, k-means) in most metrics and is more robust to challenging scenes with sea ice, coast and other icebergs. The absolute median deviation in iceberg area across 191 images is 4.1 %.
Cited articles
Armstrong, R. L. and Brodzik, M. J.: Hemispheric-scale comparison and evaluation of passive-microwave snow algorithms, Ann. Glaciol., 34, 38–44, 2002.
Ashcroft, P. and Wentz, F.: Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document for the AMSR Level-2A Algorithm, Remote Sensing Systems, Santa Rosa, California, USA, 2000.
Barnett, T. P., Adam, J. C., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions, Nature, 438, 303–309, 2005.
Brodzik, M. J. and Knowles, K. W.: EASE-Grid: A Versatile Set of Equal-Area Projections and Grids, in: Discrete Global Grids, edited by: Goodchild, M., National Center for Geographic Information & Analysis, Santa Barbara, California, USA, 2002.
Brown, R. D. and Robinson, D. A.: Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover variability and change over 1922–2010 including an assessment of uncertainty, The Cryosphere, 5, 219–229, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-219-2011, 2011.
Bulygina, O. N., Razuvaev, V. N., and Korshunova, N. N.: Changes in snow cover over Northern Eurasia in the last few decades, Environ. Res. Lett., 4, 045026, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045026, 2009.
Chang, A., Foster J., and Hall D.: Nimbus-7 SMMR derived global snow cover parameters, Ann. Glaciol., 9, 39–44, 1987.
Che, T., Li, X., Jin, R., Armstrong, R., and Zhang, T. J.: Snow depth derived from passive microwave remote-sensing data in China, Ann. Glaciol., 49, 145–154, 2008.
Che, T., Dai, L. Y., Wang, J., Zhao, K., and Liu, Q.: Estimation of snow depth and snow water equivalent distribution using airborne microwave radiometry in the Binggou Watershed, the upper reaches of the Heihe River basin, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs., 17, 23–32, 2012.
Che, T., Dai, L. Y., Zheng, X. M., Li, X. F., and Zhao, K.: Estimation of snow depth from passive microwave brightness temperature data in forest regions of northeast China, Remote Sens. Environ., 183, 334–349, 2016.
Choi, G., Robinson, D. A., and Kang, S.: Changing Northern Hemisphere snow seasons, J. Climate, 23, 5305–5310, 2010.
Cohen, J.: Snow cover and climate, Weather, 49, 150–156, 1994.
Dai, L. and Che, T.: Cross-platform calibration of SMMR, SSM/I and AMSR-E passive microwave brightness temperature. Sixth International Symposium on Digital Earth: Data Processing and Applications, edited by: Guo, H. and Wang, C., Proceedings of the SPIE, 7841, 784103, https://doi.org/10.1117/12.873150, 2009.
Dai, L. Y., Che, T., Wang, J., and Zhang, P.: Snow depth and snow water equivalent estimation from AMSR-E data based on a priori snow characteristics in Xinjiang, China, Remote Sens. Environ., 127, 14–29, 2012.
Deng, J., Huang, X., and Feng, Q.: Toward Improved Daily Cloud-Free Fractional Snow Cover Mapping with Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data in China, Remote Sens., 7, 6986–7006, 2015.
Du, J., Kimball, J. S., Shi, J., Jones, L. A., Wu, S., Sun, R., and Yang, H.: Inter-Calibration of Satellite Passive Microwave Land Observations from AMSR-E and AMSR2 Using Overlapping FY3B-MWRI Sensor Measurements, Remote Sens., 6, 8594–8616, 2014.
England, A. W.: Relative influence upon microwave emissivity of fine-scale stratigraphy, internal scattering, and dielectric properties, Pure Appl. Geophys., 114, 287–299, 1976.
Foster, J. L., Chang A. T. C., and Hall D. K.: Comparison of snow mass estimates from prototype passive microwave snow algorithm, a revised algorithm and a snow depth climatology, Remote Sens. Environ., 62, 132–142, 1997.
Frei, A., Tedesco, M., Lee, S., Foster, J., Hall, D. K., Kelly, R., and Robinson, D. A.: A review of global satellite-derived snow products, Adv. Space Res., 50, 1007–1029, 2012.
Gafurov, A. and Bárdossy, A.: Cloud removal methodology from MODIS snow cover product, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 13, 1361–1373, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-13-1361-2009, 2009.
Gafurov, A., Vorogushyn, S., Farinotti, D., Duethmann, D., Merkushkin, A., and Merz, B.: Snow-cover reconstruction methodology for mountainous regions based on historic in situ observations and recent remote sensing data, The Cryosphere, 9, 451–463, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-451-2015, 2015.
Gao, J., Williams, M. W., Fu, X. D., Wang, G. Q., and Gong, T.,L.: Spatiotemporal distribution of snow in eastern Tibet and the response to climate change, Remote Sens. Environ., 121, 1–9, 2012.
Goita, K., Walker A. E., and Goodison B. E.: Algorithm development for the estimation of snow water equivalent in the boreal forest using passive microwave data, Int. J. Remote Sens., 24, 1097–1102, 2003.
Grody, N. C. and Basist, A. N.: Global identification of snow cover using SSM/I measurements, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 34, 237–249, 1996.
Hall, D. K. and Riggs, G. A.: Accuracy assessment of the MODIS snow products, Hydrol. Process., 21, 1534–1547, 2007.
Hall, D. K., Riggs, G. A., Salomonson, V. V., DiGirolamo, N. E., and Bayr, K. J.: MODIS snow-cover products, Remote Sens. Environ., 83,, 181–194, 2002.
Hall, D. K., Salomonson, V. V., and Riggs, G. A.: MODIS/Aqua Snow Cover Daily L3 Global 500 m Grid, Version 5, Boulder, Colorado USA, NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center, https://doi.org/10.5067/ZFAEMQGSR4XD, 2006.
Hall, D. K., Riggs, G. A., Foster, J. L., and Kumar, S. V.: Development and evaluation of a cloud-gap-filled MODIS daily snow-cover product, Remote Sens. Environ., 114, 496–503, 2010.
Holmes, T. R. H., De Jeu, R. A. M., Owe, M., and Dolman, A. J.: Land surface temperature from Ka band (37 GHz) passive microwave observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D04113, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010257, 2009.
Huang, C. L., Margulis, S. A., Durand, M. T., and Musselman, K. N.: Assessment of Snow Grain-Size Model and Stratigraphy Representation Impacts on Snow Radiance Assimilation: Forward Modeling Evaluation, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 50, 4551–4564, 2012.
Imaoka, K., Kachi, M., and Murakami, H.: Global Change Observation Mission (GCOM) for monitoring carbon, water cycles, and climate change, Proc. IEEE, 98, 717–734, 2010.
Immerzeel, W. W., Droogers, P., de Jong, S. M., and Bierkens, M. F. P.: Large-scale monitoring of snow cover and runoff simulation in Himalayan river basins using remote sensing, Remote Sens. Environ., 113, 40–49, 2009.
Immerzeel, W. W., van Beek, L. P. H., and Bierkens, M. F. P.: Climate Change Will Affect the Asian Water Towers, Science, 328, 1382–1385, 2010.
Jiang, L., Shi, J. C., Tjuatja, S., Dozier, J., Chen, K., and Zhang, L.: A parameterized multiple-scattering model for microwave emission from dry snow, Remote Sens. Environ., 111, 357–366, 2007.
Jiang, L. M., Shi, J. C., Tjuatja, S., Chen, K. S., Du, J. Y., and Zhang, L. X.: Estimation of Snow Water Equivalence Using the Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer From the Cold Land Processes Experiments (CLPX03), IEEE Geosci. Remote S., 8, 359–363, 2011.
Jiang, L. M., Wang, P., Zhang, L. X., Yang, H., and Yang, J. T.: Improvement of snow depth retrieval for FY3B-MWRI in China, Sci. China Earth Sci., 57, 1278–1292, 2014.
Kang, S., Xu, Y., and You, Q.: Review of climate and cryospheric change in the Tibetan Plateau, Environ. Res. Lett., 5, 015101, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/015101, 2010.
Kelly, R. E., Chang, A. T., Tsang, L., and Foster, J. L.: A prototype AMSR-E global snow area and snow depth algorithm, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 41, 230–242, 2003.
Langlois, A., Royer, A., Dupont, F., Roy, A., Goita, K., and Picard, G.: Improved Corrections of Forest Effects on Passive Microwave Satellite Remote Sensing of Snow Over Boreal and Subarctic Regions, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 49, 3824–3837, 2011.
Li, X., Li, X. W., and Li, Z. Y.: Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D22103, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD011590, 2009.
Liang, T. G., Huang, X. D., and Cai, X. W.: An application of MODIS data to snow cover monitoring in a pastoral area: A case study in Northern Xinjiang, China, Remote Sens. Environ., 112, 1514–1526, 2008.
Lü, J. M., Ju, J. H., Kim, S. J., Ren, J. Z., and Zhu, Y. X.: Arctic Oscillation and the autumn/winter snow depth over the Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D14117, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009567, 2008.
Parajka, J., Pepe, M., Rampini, A., Rossi, S., and Bloschl, G.: A regional snow-line method for estimating snow cover from MODIS during cloud cover, J. Hydrol., 381, 203–212, 2010.
Pulliainen, J.: Mapping of snow water equivalent and snow depth in boreal and sub-arctic zones by assimilating space-borne microwave radiometer data and ground-based observations, Remote Sens. Environ., 101, 257–269, 2006.
Pulliainen, J. T., Grandell, J., and Hallikainen, M. T.: HUT snow emission model and its applicability to snow water equivalent retrieval, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 37, 1378–1390, 1999.
Qiu, Y. B., Shi, J. C., and Lemmetyinen, J.: The Atmosphere Influence to Amsr-E Measurements over Snow-Covered Areas: Simulation and Experiments, Int. Geosci. Remote Se., 1–5, 861–864, 2009.
Ramsay, B. H.: The interactive multisensor snow and ice mapping system, Hydrol. Process., 12, 1537–1546, 1998.
Riggs, G., Hall, D. K., and Salomonson, V. V.: MODIS Snow Products Users Guide to Collection 5, available at: http://modis-snow-ice.gsfc.nasa.gov (last access: 19 August 2017), 2006.
Salomonson, V. V. and Appel, I.: Estimating fractional snow cover from MODIS using the normalized difference snow index, Remote Sens. Environ., 89, 351–360, 2004.
Salomonson, V. V. and Appel, I.: Development of the Aqua MODIS NDSI fractional snow cover algorithm and validation results, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 44, 1747–1756, 2006.
Savoie, M. H., Armstrong, R. L., Brodzik, M. J., and Wang, J. R.: Atmospheric corrections for improved satellite passive microwave snow cover retrievals over the Tibet Plateau, Remote Sens. Environ., 113, 2661–2669, 2009.
Shi, H. X. and Wang, C. H.: Projected 21st century changes in snow water equivalent over Northern Hemisphere landmasses from the CMIP5 model ensemble, The Cryosphere, 9, 1943–1953, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1943-2015, 2015.
Smith, T. and Bookhagen, B: Assessing uncertainty and sensor biases in passive microwave data across High Mountain Asia, Remote Sens. Environ., 181, 174–185, 2016.
Tang, Z. G., Wang, J., Li, H. Y., and Yan, L. L.: Spatiotemporal changes of snow cover over the Tibetan plateau based on cloud-removed moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer fractional snow cover product from 2001 to 2011, J. Appl. Remote Sens., 7, 073582, https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.7.073582, 2013.
Tedesco, M. and Narvekar, P. S.: Assessment of the NASA AMSR-E SWE Product, IEEE J.-Stars, 3, 141–159, 2010.
Vander Jagt, B. J., Durand, M. T., Margulis, S. A., Kim, E. J., and Molotch, N. P.: On the characterization of vegetation transmissivity using LAI for application in passive microwave remote sensing of snowpack, Remote Sens. Environ., 156, 310–321, 2015.
Wang, C., Wang, Z., and Cui, Y.: Snow Cover of China during the Last 40 Years: Spatial Distribution and Interannual Variation, Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 31, 301–310, 2009 (in Chinese).
Wang, W., Huang, X. D., Deng, J., Xie, H. J., and Liang, T. G.: Spatio-Temporal Change of Snow Cover and Its Response to Climate over the Tibetan Plateau Based on an Improved Daily Cloud-Free Snow Cover Product, Remote Sens.-Basel, 7, 169–194, 2015.
Wu, T. W. and Qian, Z. A.: The relation between the Tibetan winter snow and the Asian summer monsoon and rainfall: An observational investigation, J. Climate, 16, 2038–2051, 2003.
Xu, C. C., Chen, Y. N., and Hamid, Y.: Long-term change of seasonal snow cover and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim River basin, northwestern China, Hydrol. Process., 23, 2045–2055, 2009.
Xu, X. D., Lu, C. G., Shi, X. H., and Gao, S. T.: World water tower: An atmospheric perspective, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L20815, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL035867, 2008.
Yang, J. T., Jiang, L. M. M., and Menard, C. B.: Evaluation of snow products over the Tibetan Plateau, Hydrol. Process., 29, 3247–3260, 2015.
You, Q. L., Kang, S. C., and Ren, G. Y.: Observed changes in snow depth and number of snow days in the eastern and central Tibetan Plateau, Clim. Res., 46, 171–183, 2011.
Yu, Z., Liu, S. R., and Wang, J. X.: Effects of seasonal snow on the growing season of temperate vegetation in China, Glob. Change Biol., 19, 2182–2195, 2013.
Zeng, J. Y., Li, Z., Chen, Q., and Bi, H. Y.: Method for Soil Moisture and Surface Temperature Estimation in the Tibetan Plateau Using Spaceborne Radiometer Observations, IEEE Geosci. Remote S., 12, 97–101, 2015.
Zhang, Y. S., Li, T., and Wang, B.: Decadal change of the spring snow depth over the Tibetan Plateau: The associated circulation and influence on the East Asian summer monsoon, J. Climate, 17, 2780–2793, 2004.
Zhong, X., Zhang, T., and Wang, K.: Snow density climatology across the former USSR, The Cryosphere, 8, 785–799, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-785-2014, 2014.
Short summary
Snow depth over QTP plays a very important role in the climate and hydrological system, but there are uncertainties on the snow depth products derived from passive microwave remote sensing data. In this study, we evaluated the ability of passive microwave to detect snow cover and snow depth over QTP, presented the accuracy of passive microwave snow cover and snow depth products over QTP, and analyzed the possible reasons causing the uncertainties.
Snow depth over QTP plays a very important role in the climate and hydrological system, but...
