The use of RADARSAT-2 and TerraSAR-X data for the evaluation of snow characteristics in subarctic regions

This paper investigates the potential for the combination of RADARSAT-2 and TerraSAR-X data to evaluate snow characteristics in subarctic regions. The study area situated around the Umiujaq community (56.55° N, 76.55° W) in northern Quebec, Canada. RADARSAT-2 and TerraSAR-X data were acquired between March 2010 and April 2012 during the fall and winter seasons. Snow measurements were made in coordination with satellite acquisitions and vegetation was sampled in the summer of 2009. A temporal analysis is first performed on the fall data to determine when ground freeze-up occurs. The fall image which corresponds to frozen conditions is then compared to winter images using temporal backscattering ratios. This method shows a good sensitivity to varying snow conditions and the different frequencies provide complementary information. However, there is still some ambiguity on the exact influence that shrub vegetation has on the SAR signal.