Evaluating snow depth measurements from ground-penetrating radar and airborne lidar in boreal forest and tundra environments during the NASA SnowEx 2023 campaign
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: . We evaluated ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and airborne lidar retrievals of snow depth collected during the NASA SnowEx 2023 campaign in Alaskan tundra and boreal forest environments along 44 short (3–12 m) transects. Compared to in situ observations, we identified modest biases for GPR snow depths (bias <0.03 m in tundra, +0.06 m in boreal forests) and larger biases for lidar snow depths (bias +0.19 m at a tundra site, –0.16 m in boreal forests) related sub-snow vegetation, tussocks, and seasonally dynamic ground. These complex surface environments present a challenge to established methods, which needs to be considered when evaluating novel remote sensing approaches.
Source: The cryosphere
Institutions: Colorado State University, United States Geological Survey, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, United States Army, University of Wyoming, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Boise State University, Goddard Space Flight Center, Science Systems and Applications (United States)
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,574
Awards: G3306608470, G5557807950
OpenAlex ID: W7154735734