Articles | Volume 13, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3045-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3045-2019
Research article
 | 
19 Nov 2019
Research article |  | 19 Nov 2019

Effect of snow microstructure variability on Ku-band radar snow water equivalent retrievals

Nick Rutter, Melody J. Sandells, Chris Derksen, Joshua King, Peter Toose, Leanne Wake, Tom Watts, Richard Essery, Alexandre Roy, Alain Royer, Philip Marsh, Chris Larsen, and Matthew Sturm

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Cited articles

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Short summary
Impact of natural variability in Arctic tundra snow microstructural characteristics on the capacity to estimate snow water equivalent (SWE) from Ku-band radar was assessed. Median values of metrics quantifying snow microstructure adequately characterise differences between snowpack layers. Optimal estimates of SWE required microstructural values slightly less than the measured median but tolerated natural variability for accurate estimation of SWE in shallow snowpacks.