Mapping Snow Depth From Ka-Band Interferometry: Proof of Concept and Comparison With Scanning Lidar Retrievals

This letter presents the first demonstration of millimeter-wave single-pass interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) for snow-depth mapping. Maps are presented over the Tuolumne River Basin region of the Sierra Nevada, CA, USA, and compared with those collected by a scanning lidar onboard the NASA Airborne Snow Observatory for the same region on the same snow day. For this observation, the snow surface was wet and melting and as such penetration of the electromagnetic wave into the snow volume can be effectively neglected. Despite the rugged terrain, heavy tree-cover, and very low snow-volume, depth maps had a standard deviation <1 m with the largest differences occurring on slopes exceeding 40°. While additional evaluation is needed with demonstration of the InSAR capability over a greater range of conditions and terrain, these results are promising. InSAR for snow-depth mapping holds significant advantages for a spaceborne mission if proven viable as it can operate through cloud cover, day or night, and measure snowpack when wet or melting.

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