Snow mapping technique at subpixel level for small basins

Snow cover mapping is often carried out using optical satellite imagery. In this paper the authors address the problem of snow mapping of small basins with areas only 10 times the spatial resolution of the sensor using subpixel analysis. This technique is currently being used in several basins in the Spanish Pyrenees and has been developed as part of a snow cover mapping and snowmelt runoff forecasting system which uses snow cover as an input far the Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM). Spanish hydropower companies receive the snowmelt forecasts and use them as criteria in decision making for reservoir management. The accuracy of the forecast strongly depends an the snow cover accuracy