Articles | Volume 16, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-799-2022
© Author(s) 2022. 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-16-799-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Brief communication
| 
10 Mar 2022
Brief communication |
| 10 Mar 2022
| 10 Mar 2022
Brief communication: Application of a muonic cosmic ray snow gauge to monitor the snow water equivalent on alpine glaciers
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
now at: Environmental Remote Sensing Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
now at: Radar, Satellite and Nowcasting Division, MeteoSwiss, Locarno-Monti, Switzerland
Darin Desilets
Hydroinnova LLC, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Nadine Salzmann
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
now at: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
now at: Climate Change, Extremes, and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Center CERC, Davos, Switzerland
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Rebecca Gugerli, Matteo Guidicelli, Marco Gabella, Matthias Huss, and Nadine Salzmann
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To obtain reliable snowfall estimates in high mountain remains a challenge. This study uses daily snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates by a cosmic ray sensor on two Swiss glaciers to assess three
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The snow water equivalent (SWE) in high mountain regions is crucial for many applications. Yet its quantification remains difficult. We present autonomous daily SWE observations by a cosmic ray sensor (CRS) deployed on a Swiss glacier for two winter seasons. Combined with snow depth observations, we derive the daily bulk snow density. The validation with manual field observations and its measurement reliability show that the CRS is a promising device for high alpine cryospheric environments.
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Spatio-temporal reconstruction of winter glacier mass balance is important for assessing long-term impacts of climate change. However, high-altitude regions significantly lack reliable observations, which is limiting the calibration of glaciological and hydrological models. We aim at improving knowledge on the spatio-temporal variations in winter glacier mass balance by exploring the combination of data from reanalyses and direct snow accumulation observations on glaciers with machine learning.
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Conventional methods used to measure snow have many limitations which hinder our ability to document annual cycles, test predictive models, or analyze the impact of climate change. A modern snow measurement method using in situ cosmic ray neutron sensors demonstrates the capability of continuously measuring spatially variable snowpacks with considerable accuracy. These sensors can provide important data for testing models, validating remote sensing, and water resource management applications.
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To obtain reliable snowfall estimates in high mountain remains a challenge. This study uses daily snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates by a cosmic ray sensor on two Swiss glaciers to assess three
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Discipline: Snow | Subject: Instrumentation
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Short summary
Monitoring the snow water equivalent (SWE) in high mountain regions is highly important and a challenge. We explore the use of muon counts to infer SWE temporally continuously. We deployed muonic cosmic ray snow gauges (µ-CRSG) on a Swiss glacier over the winter 2020/21. Evaluated with manual SWE measurements and SWE estimates inferred from neutron counts, we conclude that the µ-CRSG is a highly promising method for remote high mountain regions with several advantages over other current methods.
Monitoring the snow water equivalent (SWE) in high mountain regions is highly important and a...
