Effect of Different Tree canopies on the Brightness Temperature of Snowpack

Snow stores the water we drink and is essential to grow food that we eat. But changes in snow quantities such as snow water equivalent (SWE) are underway and have serious consequences. So, effective management of the freshwater reservoir requires to monitor frequently (weekly or better) the spatial distribution of SWE and snowpack wetness. Both microwave radar and radiometer systems have long been considered as relevant remote sensing tools in retrieving globally snow physical parameters of interest thanks to their all-weather operation capability. However, their observations are sensitive to the presence of tree canopies, which in turns impacts SWE estimation. To address this long-lasting challenge, we parked a truck-mounted microwave radiometer system for an entire winter in a rare area where it exists different tree types in the different cardinal directions. We used dual-polarization microwave radiometers at three different frequencies (1.4, 19, and 37 GHz), mounted on a boom truck to observe continuously the snowpack surrounding the truck. Observations were recorded at different incidence angles. These measurements have been collected in Grand Mesa National Forest, Colorado as part of the NASA SnowEx 2016-17. In this presentation, the effect of Engelmann Spruce and Aspen trees on the measured brightness temperature of snow is discussed. It is shown that Engelmann Spruce trees increases the brightness temperature of the snowpack more than Aspen trees do. Moreover, the elevation angular dependence of the measured brightness temperatures of snowpack with and without tree canopies is investigated in the context of SWE retrievals. A time-lapse camera was monitoring a snow post installed in the sensors' field of view to characterize the brightness temperature change as snow depth evolved. Also, our study takes advantage of the snowpit measurements that were collected near the radiometers' field of view.