Time Series of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) Evolution Derived Using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR)

Radar remote sensing and interferomtery have a unique ability to differentiate various snowpack conditions (i.e. wetness, surface roughness, ice layers, and grain size). Previous research has shown a relationship between interferometric phase of a radar signal and changes in snow water equivalent (SWE) for dry snow. Overlapping ascending and descending orbits from the ERS-1 (European Remote-Sensing Satellite) 3-day repeat phase are used to construct a near-daily time series of an Arctic Alaskan snowpack (Kuparuk Watershed, Brooks Range, Alaska) in March of 1994. Despite having no direct SWE measurements within the study area, data from meterological stations (e.g. temperature, wind speed/direction, and precipitation) are used to interpret the spatial variation within each change in SWE map over the 3-day periods. A significant precipitation event is recorded within the time series and compared to a time period depicting little to no snow as precipitation. Promising results within this study area have deemed the need for additional research sites in the Western United States where this 3-day repeat phase of the ERS-1 satellite brackets a precipitation event and meterological stations exist directly measuring SWE.