Articles | Volume 10, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2069-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2069-2016
Research article
 | 
14 Sep 2016
Research article |  | 14 Sep 2016

Brief communication: Improved measurement of ice layer density in seasonal snowpacks

Tom Watts, Nick Rutter, Peter Toose, Chris Derksen, Melody Sandells, and John Woodward

Related authors

Retrieval of airborne Ku-Band SAR Using Forward Radiative Transfer Modeling to Estimate Snow Water Equivalent: The Trail Valley Creek 2018/19 Snow Experiment
Benoit Montpetit, Joshua King, Julien Meloche, Chris Derksen, Paul Siqueira, J. Max Adam, Peter Toose, Mike Brady, Anna Wendleder, Vincent Vionnet, and Nicolas R. Leroux
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-651,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-651, 2024
Short summary
Simulating net ecosystem exchange under seasonal snow cover at an Arctic tundra site
Victoria R. Dutch, Nick Rutter, Leanne Wake, Oliver Sonnentag, Gabriel Hould Gosselin, Melody Sandells, Chris Derksen, Branden Walker, Gesa Meyer, Richard Essery, Richard Kelly, Phillip Marsh, Julia Boike, and Matteo Detto
Biogeosciences, 21, 825–841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-825-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-825-2024, 2024
Short summary
A simple snow temperature index model exposes discrepancies between reanalysis snow water equivalent products
Aleksandra Elias Chereque, Paul J. Kushner, Lawrence Mudryk, Chris Derksen, and Colleen Mortimer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-201,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-201, 2024
Short summary
Benchmarking of SWE products based on outcomes of the SnowPEx+ Intercomparison Project
Lawrence Mudryk, Colleen Mortimer, Chris Derksen, Aleksandra Elias Chereque, and Paul Kushner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3014,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3014, 2024
Short summary
Use of multiple reference data sources to cross validate gridded snow water equivalent products over North America
Colleen Mortimer, Lawrence Mudryk, Eunsang Cho, Chris Derksen, Mike Brady, and Carrie Vuyvich
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3013,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3013, 2024
Short summary

Related subject area

Seasonal Snow
Snow water equivalent retrieval over Idaho – Part 2: Using L-band UAVSAR repeat-pass interferometry
Zachary Hoppinen, Shadi Oveisgharan, Hans-Peter Marshall, Ross Mower, Kelly Elder, and Carrie Vuyovich
The Cryosphere, 18, 575–592, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-575-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-575-2024, 2024
Short summary
Variability and drivers of winter near-surface temperatures over boreal and tundra landscapes
Vilna Tyystjärvi, Pekka Niittynen, Julia Kemppinen, Miska Luoto, Tuuli Rissanen, and Juha Aalto
The Cryosphere, 18, 403–423, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-403-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-403-2024, 2024
Short summary
Spatiotemporal snow water storage uncertainty in the midlatitude American Cordillera
Yiwen Fang, Yufei Liu, Dongyue Li, Haorui Sun, and Steven A. Margulis
The Cryosphere, 17, 5175–5195, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5175-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5175-2023, 2023
Short summary
Evaluation of snow cover properties in ERA5 and ERA5-Land with several satellite-based datasets in the Northern Hemisphere in spring 1982–2018
Kerttu Kouki, Kari Luojus, and Aku Riihelä
The Cryosphere, 17, 5007–5026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5007-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5007-2023, 2023
Short summary
Multi-decadal analysis of past winter temperature, precipitation and snow cover data in the European Alps from reanalyses, climate models and observational datasets
Diego Monteiro and Samuel Morin
The Cryosphere, 17, 3617–3660, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3617-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3617-2023, 2023
Short summary

Cited articles

Albert, M. R. and Perron Jr., F. E.: Ice layer and surface crust permeability in a seasonal snowpack, Hydrol. Process., 14, 3207–3214, 2000.
Colbeck, S. C.: The layered character of snow covers, Rev. Geophys., 29, 81–96, 1991.
Colbeck, S. C. and Anderson, E. A.: The permeability of melting snow, Water Resour. Res., 18, 904–908, 1982.
Durand, M. T., Kim, E. J., and Margulis, S. A.: Quantifying uncertainty in modeling snow microwave radiance for a mountain snowpack at the point-scale, including stratigraphic effects, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 46, 1753–1767, 2008.
Download
Short summary
Ice layers in snowpacks introduce uncertainty in satellite-derived estimates of snow water equivalent, have ecological impacts on plants and animals, and change the thermal and vapour transport properties of the snowpack. Here we present a new field method for measuring the density of ice layers. The method was used in the Arctic and mid-latitudes; the mean measured ice layer density was significantly higher than values typically used in the literature.