The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
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Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3177-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3177-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
Research article
 | 
22 Aug 2025
Research article |  | 22 Aug 2025

Influence of snow spatial variability on cosmic ray neutron snow water equivalent (SWE): case study in a northern prairie

Haejo Kim, Eric Sproles, and Samuel E. Tuttle

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Cited articles

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Bogena, H. R., Huisman, J. A., Baatz, R., Hendricks Franssen, H.-J., and Vereecken, H.: Accuracy of the cosmic-ray soil water content probe in humid forest ecosystems: The worst case scenario: Cosmic-Ray Probe in Humid Forested Ecosystems, Water Resour. Res., 49, 5778–5791, https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20463, 2013. 
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Short summary
Monitoring of a shallow and highly variable snowpack's water content has been shown to be reliable with cosmic ray neutron sensing (CRNS). After hundreds of simulations, we show a CRNS instrument is best placed near areas of low snow accumulation that are near regions of high snow accumulation for an accurate estimate of the prairie snowpack's water content. The snow water equivalent from a CRNS was 2 to 5 times more likely to be representative of the prairie snow, compared to traditional snow monitoring methods.
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