Field measurements for remote sensing of the cryosphere

This chapter reviews standard in situ manual field measurements for snow and ice properties, as well as newer high-resolution techniques and instruments used to simulate airborne and spaceborne remote sensing observations. It presents sampling strategies and example applications from recent international calibration and validation experiment. Field measurements are a crucial component of remote sensing of the cryosphere, as they provide both the necessary direct observations of the variables of interest, as well as measurements that simulate the particular remote sensing technique at scales that can be characterized accurately. Ground-based observations provide the information needed to: improve and develop new retrieval algorithms; calibrate algorithms; and validate results to provide accurate uncertainty assessments.