Empirical Model for Retrieving Snow Water Equivalent from C-Band Polarimetric SAR Data

摘要

The European Multisensor Airborne Campaign 1995 (EMAC'95) in northern Finland concentrated on snow and sea ice studies. The four test sites were located along a straight line extending from the coast (near city of Oulu) to inland. SAR data were provided by airborne EMISAR and ESAR sensors. In this paper, the polarimetric EMISAR data at L- and C-band are used to develop methods for retrieving snowpack parameters such as snow density, snow depth and snow water equivalent. The radar backscattering signal from dry snowpack in non-forested (open) areas is examined and correlations between the snowpack parameters and the backscattering coefficients are computed. The development of an empirical model is presented to retrieve the snow water equivalent from C-band SAR data in non-forested (open) areas. The response of the radar signal to snow water equivalent is modeled empirically. The model provides good accuracy for retrieval of the snow water equivalent of dry snow and is in good agreement with the data.