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Snow Depth and Snow Water Equivalent Estimation

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Theory and Practice of GNSS Reflectometry

Part of the book series: Navigation: Science and Technology ((NASTECH,volume 9))

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Abstract

Variation in regional and global snowfall significantly affects the ecological and climate systems, which is usually used for policy-making in water resource management and disaster prevention. The amount of snowfall is measured by two different parameters, snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE). SWE is defined as the product of snow depth and snow density, which is also equal to the depth of water after the snow completely melts without evaporation, penetration and run-off. In this chapter, the focus is on the use of GNSS-R for estimating snow depth and SWE. Four different methods of snow depth estimation are studied with details, while only one SWE estimation method is described, indicating more investigations are needed to enhance SWE estimation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China

    Prof. Kegen Yu

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  1. Prof. Kegen Yu
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Correspondence to Kegen Yu .

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Yu, K. (2021). Snow Depth and Snow Water Equivalent Estimation. In: Theory and Practice of GNSS Reflectometry. Navigation: Science and Technology, vol 9. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0411-9_8

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