HR: 14:40h
AN: H22E-04    [PDF]
TI: Validation of Snow Cover Information Derived From AMSR-E Data Over Canadian Regions
AU: * Walker, A E
EM: anne.walker@ec.gc.ca
AF: Climate Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Downsview, ON M3H 5T4 Canada
AU: Derksen, C
EM: chris.derksen@ec.gc.ca
AF: Climate Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Downsview, ON M3H 5T4 Canada
AU: Royer, A
EM: alain.royer@usherbrooke.ca
AF: CARTEL, Universite de Sherbrooke, 2500 boulevard de L'Universite, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1 Canada
AU: Goodison, B E
EM: barry.goodison@ec.gc.ca
AF: Climate Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Downsview, ON M3H 5T4 Canada
AB: CRYSYS (Cryospheric System in Canada) has been an Interdisciplinary Science Investigation (IDS) in NASA's Earth Observing System Program since 1990, hosted and funded by Canadian agencies and universities, with the lead being the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC). One of the main objectives of CRYSYS is to develop capabilities for improved satellite-based measurement, monitoring and understanding of cryospheric variables over a range of spatial and temporal scales over Canada (for further information see www.crysys.ca). As an EOS IDS team, CRYSYS has a particular interest in cryospheric information derived from EOS sensors. The development, application and validation of methods to extract snow cover information from passive microwave sensors has been a major research thrust within CRYSYS. Algorithms that derive snow water equivalent (SWE) have been developed by the Climate Research Branch (CRB) of MSC and CRYSYS university collaborators and validated for a number of landscape regions including prairie, boreal forest and taiga. The CRB SWE algorithms are used with SSM/I data to generate regional snow cover products that are being used to support a number of research and operational applications. With the launch of the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) on the EOS Aqua satellite in May 2002, a new source of passive microwave derived snow cover information became available. AMSR-E offers the potential for retrieval of enhanced SWE information over Canadian regions, particularly with its higher spatial resolution (10 km) than previous satellite microwave radiometers such as SSM/I (25 km). Validation of snow cover information from AMSR-E data is a priority research activity within CRYSYS, and is a contribution to the EOS AMSR-E Science Team validation program. During the winter of 2003, two CRYSYS field campaigns were conducted with a specific focus to acquire data sets in support of AMSR-E snow cover validation over Canadian regions. The first campaign was conducted February 2003 in the prairie and boreal forest regions of Saskatchewan in western Canada and involved the acquisition of airborne microwave radiometer data and ground-based measurements of snow cover properties. The second campaign occurred March 2003 in the James Bay region of Quebec in eastern Canada, involving ground-based measurements of snow cover properties along a 600 km transect transitioning from boreal forest to taiga landscapes. This paper will present initial results of the evaluation of AMSR-E derived snow cover information using data acquired during these CRYSYS validation campaigns. An overview of CRYSYS snow cover validation campaigns planned for the upcoming winter 2004 and beyond will also be presented. Validation data sets from the 2003 field campaigns and future ones will be available to the scientific community via the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (www.ccin.ca).
UR: http://www.crysys.ca
DE: 1640 Remote sensing
DE: 1863 Snow and ice (1827)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting