Monitoring snow water equivalent using the phase of RFID signals

Le Breton, Mathieu; Larose, Éric; Baillet, Laurent; Lejeune, Yves; van Herwijnen, Alec

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3137-2023

Articles | Volume 17, issue 8

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3137-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3137-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 17, issue 8

Research article

|

04 Aug 2023

Research article |

| 04 Aug 2023

Monitoring snow water equivalent using the phase of RFID signals

Mathieu Le Breton, Éric Larose, Laurent Baillet, Yves Lejeune, and Alec van Herwijnen

Model code and software

pandas-dev/pandas: Pandas The Pandas Development Team https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3509134

Short summary

We monitor the amount of snow on the ground using passive radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags. These small and inexpensive tags are wirelessly read by a stationary reader placed above the snowpack. Variations in the radiofrequency phase delay accurately reflect variations in snow amount, known as snow water equivalent. Additionally, each tag is equipped with a sensor that monitors the snow temperature.