Model analysis and experimental investigations of X-band backscattering sensitivity to snowpack characteristics

Monitoring of snow cover is crucial in water resource management and hydrological risk prevention. Experiments have shown the ability of C-band SAR in mapping the extent of wet snow. But, detection of dry snow at this frequency is difficult due to the high transmissivity of the snowpack. A model sensitivity study, corroborated by experimental data, has demonstrated that COSMO-Skymed X-band data can give significant information for generating maps of SWE for snow depth higher than about 50-60 cm.