Integration of X-band SAR and optical thermal data for retrieving snowpack parameters in mountain areas

This paper presents a study on the retrieval of snowpack biophysical parameters in mountain areas from satellite remote sensing imagery. More in detail, the integration of new generation X-band Cosmo SkyMed SAR imagery and land surface temperature (LST) information derived from optical thermal remote sensing is investigated. First, a sensitivity analysis is carried out, in order to understand whether and to what extent the investigated remote sensing signals are sensitive to variations in different snowpack target parameters. Then, an advanced retrieval system based on the Support Vector Machine approach in a multilevel architecture is developed. Experiments carried out in a small valley in the eastern Alps during the winter 2010/11 point out the effectiveness of the combined use of X-band SAR and thermal satellite imagery for the characterization of snowpack parameters in terms of both accuracy on reference point measurements and capability to reproduce spatial patterns of the target variables.