Articles | Volume 14, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1409-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1409-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
30 Apr 2020
Research article |
| 30 Apr 2020
| 30 Apr 2020
Towards a webcam-based snow cover monitoring network: methodology and evaluation
Céline Portenier
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Fabia Hüsler
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Ittigen, Switzerland
Stefan Härer
Professorship Ecoclimatology, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
Stefan Wunderle
Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Cited
17 citations as recorded by crossref.
- The use of terrestrial monoscopic time-lapse cameras for surveying glacier flow velocity N. Dematteis et al. 10.1016/j.coldregions.2024.104185
- Monitoring of thermal conditions and snow dynamics at periglacial block accumulations in a low mountain range in central Germany T. Wiegand & C. Kneisel 10.1002/esp.5998
- A seasonal algorithm of the snow-covered area fraction for mountainous terrain N. Helbig et al. 10.5194/tc-15-4607-2021
- Valley-floor snowfall in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, from 1995 to 2017: spring, summer and autumn M. Myers et al. 10.1017/S0954102022000256
- Estimating Regional Snow Line Elevation Using Public Webcam Images C. Portenier et al. 10.3390/rs14194730
- GNSS-IR Snow Depth Retrieval Based on the PSO-NFP Method With Multi-GNSS Constellations X. Yuan et al. 10.1109/TGRS.2024.3492495
- Multifeature GNSS-R Snow Depth Retrieval Using GA-BP Neural Network W. Liu et al. 10.1109/LGRS.2023.3291404
- Semi-Automatic Fractional Snow Cover Monitoring from Near-Surface Remote Sensing in Grassland A. Caparó Bellido & B. Rundquist 10.3390/rs13112045
- Measurement error in remotely sensed fractional snow cover datasets: implications for ecological research R. Jacques-Hamilton et al. 10.1088/2752-664X/ada8b3
- Quantifying the economic value of a national hydrometric network for households K. Thakar et al. 10.1016/j.hydroa.2024.100192
- Sentinel-1 time series for mapping snow cover depletion and timing of snowmelt in Arctic periglacial environments: case study from Zackenberg and Kobbefjord, Greenland S. Buchelt et al. 10.5194/tc-16-625-2022
- Snowfall events in the Cantabrian Mountains of northwestern Spain: WRF multiphysics ensemble assessment based on ground and multi-satellite observations A. Melón-Nava et al. 10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106719
- Automatically drawing vegetation classification maps using digital time‐lapse cameras in alpine ecosystems R. Okamoto et al. 10.1002/rse2.364
- Mapping snow cover frequency at 30 m for studying seasonal variations and topographic controls on the Tibetan Plateau G. Wang et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133303
- Remote sensing of the mountain cryosphere: Current capabilities and future opportunities for research L. Taylor et al. 10.1177/03091333211023690
- Interactive snow avalanche segmentation from webcam imagery: results, potential, and limitations E. Hafner et al. 10.5194/tc-18-3807-2024
- The Status of Earth Observation Techniques in Monitoring High Mountain Environments at the Example of Pasterze Glacier, Austria: Data, Methods, Accuracies, Processes, and Scales M. Avian et al. 10.3390/rs12081251
16 citations as recorded by crossref.
- The use of terrestrial monoscopic time-lapse cameras for surveying glacier flow velocity N. Dematteis et al. 10.1016/j.coldregions.2024.104185
- Monitoring of thermal conditions and snow dynamics at periglacial block accumulations in a low mountain range in central Germany T. Wiegand & C. Kneisel 10.1002/esp.5998
- A seasonal algorithm of the snow-covered area fraction for mountainous terrain N. Helbig et al. 10.5194/tc-15-4607-2021
- Valley-floor snowfall in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, from 1995 to 2017: spring, summer and autumn M. Myers et al. 10.1017/S0954102022000256
- Estimating Regional Snow Line Elevation Using Public Webcam Images C. Portenier et al. 10.3390/rs14194730
- GNSS-IR Snow Depth Retrieval Based on the PSO-NFP Method With Multi-GNSS Constellations X. Yuan et al. 10.1109/TGRS.2024.3492495
- Multifeature GNSS-R Snow Depth Retrieval Using GA-BP Neural Network W. Liu et al. 10.1109/LGRS.2023.3291404
- Semi-Automatic Fractional Snow Cover Monitoring from Near-Surface Remote Sensing in Grassland A. Caparó Bellido & B. Rundquist 10.3390/rs13112045
- Measurement error in remotely sensed fractional snow cover datasets: implications for ecological research R. Jacques-Hamilton et al. 10.1088/2752-664X/ada8b3
- Quantifying the economic value of a national hydrometric network for households K. Thakar et al. 10.1016/j.hydroa.2024.100192
- Sentinel-1 time series for mapping snow cover depletion and timing of snowmelt in Arctic periglacial environments: case study from Zackenberg and Kobbefjord, Greenland S. Buchelt et al. 10.5194/tc-16-625-2022
- Snowfall events in the Cantabrian Mountains of northwestern Spain: WRF multiphysics ensemble assessment based on ground and multi-satellite observations A. Melón-Nava et al. 10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106719
- Automatically drawing vegetation classification maps using digital time‐lapse cameras in alpine ecosystems R. Okamoto et al. 10.1002/rse2.364
- Mapping snow cover frequency at 30 m for studying seasonal variations and topographic controls on the Tibetan Plateau G. Wang et al. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133303
- Remote sensing of the mountain cryosphere: Current capabilities and future opportunities for research L. Taylor et al. 10.1177/03091333211023690
- Interactive snow avalanche segmentation from webcam imagery: results, potential, and limitations E. Hafner et al. 10.5194/tc-18-3807-2024
Latest update: 18 Sep 2025
Short summary
We present a method to derive snow cover maps from freely available webcam images in the Swiss Alps. With marginal manual user input, we can transform a webcam image into a georeferenced map and therewith perform snow cover analyses with a high spatiotemporal resolution over a large area. Our evaluation has shown that webcams could not only serve as a reference for improved validation of satellite-based approaches, but also complement satellite-based snow cover retrieval.
We present a method to derive snow cover maps from freely available webcam images in the Swiss...
