Snow Depth Variability in the Northern Hemisphere Mountains Observed from Space

Hans Lievens; Matthias Demuzere; Hans Peter Marshall; Rolf H. Reichle; Ludovic Brucker; Isis Brangers; Patricia de Rosnay; Marie Dumont; Manuela Girotto; Walter W. Immerzeel; Tobias Jonas; Edward J. Kim; Inka Koch; Christoph Marty; Tuomo Saloranta; Johannes Schöber; Gabrielle J.M. De Lannoy

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12566-y

Snow Depth Variability in the Northern Hemisphere Mountains Observed from Space

Hans Lievens, Matthias Demuzere, Hans Peter Marshall, Rolf H. Reichle, Ludovic Brucker, Isis Brangers, Patricia de Rosnay, Marie Dumont, Manuela Girotto, Walter W. Immerzeel, Tobias Jonas, Edward J. Kim, Inka Koch, Christoph Marty, Tuomo Saloranta, Johannes Schöber, Gabrielle J.M. De Lannoy

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Abstract

Accurate snow depth observations are critical to assess water resources. More than a billion people rely on water from snow, most of which originates in the Northern Hemisphere mountain ranges. Yet, remote sensing observations of mountain snow depth are still lacking at the large scale. Here, we show the ability of Sentinel-1 to map snow depth in the Northern Hemisphere mountains at 1 km² resolution using an empirical change detection approach. An evaluation with measurements from ~4000 sites and reanalysis data demonstrates that the Sentinel-1 retrievals capture the spatial variability between and within mountain ranges, as well as their inter-annual differences. This is showcased with the contrasting snow depths between 2017 and 2018 in the US Sierra Nevada and European Alps. With Sentinel-1 continuity ensured until 2030 and likely beyond, these findings lay a foundation for quantifying the long-term vulnerability of mountain snow-water resources to climate change.

Original language	American English
Article number	4629
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	10
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12566-y
State	Published - 11 Oct 2019

Keywords

cryospheric science
hydrology

EGS Disciplines

Earth Sciences
Geophysics and Seismology
Hydrology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/geo_facpubs/494/License: CC BY

Cite this

Lievens, H., Demuzere, M., Marshall, H. P., Reichle, R. H., Brucker, L., Brangers, I., de Rosnay, P., Dumont, M., Girotto, M., Immerzeel, W. W., Jonas, T., Kim, E. J., Koch, I., Marty, C., Saloranta, T., Schöber, J., & De Lannoy, G. J. M. (2019). Snow Depth Variability in the Northern Hemisphere Mountains Observed from Space. Nature Communications, 10(1), Article 4629. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12566-y

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title = "Snow Depth Variability in the Northern Hemisphere Mountains Observed from Space",

abstract = " Accurate snow depth observations are critical to assess water resources. More than a billion people rely on water from snow, most of which originates in the Northern Hemisphere mountain ranges. Yet, remote sensing observations of mountain snow depth are still lacking at the large scale. Here, we show the ability of Sentinel-1 to map snow depth in the Northern Hemisphere mountains at 1 km² resolution using an empirical change detection approach. An evaluation with measurements from \textasciitilde{}4000 sites and reanalysis data demonstrates that the Sentinel-1 retrievals capture the spatial variability between and within mountain ranges, as well as their inter-annual differences. This is showcased with the contrasting snow depths between 2017 and 2018 in the US Sierra Nevada and European Alps. With Sentinel-1 continuity ensured until 2030 and likely beyond, these findings lay a foundation for quantifying the long-term vulnerability of mountain snow-water resources to climate change.",

keywords = "cryospheric science, hydrology",

author = "Hans Lievens and Matthias Demuzere and Marshall, \{Hans Peter\} and Reichle, \{Rolf H.\} and Ludovic Brucker and Isis Brangers and \{de Rosnay\}, Patricia and Marie Dumont and Manuela Girotto and Immerzeel, \{Walter W.\} and Tobias Jonas and Kim, \{Edward J.\} and Inka Koch and Christoph Marty and Tuomo Saloranta and Johannes Sch{\"o}ber and \{De Lannoy\}, \{Gabrielle J.M.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019, The Author(s).",

year = "2019",

month = oct,

day = "11",

doi = "10.1038/s41467-019-12566-y",

language = "American English",

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Lievens, H, Demuzere, M, Marshall, HP, Reichle, RH, Brucker, L, Brangers, I, de Rosnay, P, Dumont, M, Girotto, M, Immerzeel, WW, Jonas, T, Kim, EJ, Koch, I, Marty, C, Saloranta, T, Schöber, J & De Lannoy, GJM 2019, 'Snow Depth Variability in the Northern Hemisphere Mountains Observed from Space', Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, 4629. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12566-y

TY - JOUR

T1 - Snow Depth Variability in the Northern Hemisphere Mountains Observed from Space

AU - Lievens, Hans

AU - Demuzere, Matthias

AU - Marshall, Hans Peter

AU - Reichle, Rolf H.

AU - Brucker, Ludovic

AU - Brangers, Isis

AU - de Rosnay, Patricia

AU - Dumont, Marie

AU - Girotto, Manuela

AU - Immerzeel, Walter W.

AU - Jonas, Tobias

AU - Kim, Edward J.

AU - Koch, Inka

AU - Marty, Christoph

AU - Saloranta, Tuomo

AU - Schöber, Johannes

AU - De Lannoy, Gabrielle J.M.

PY - 2019/10/11

Y1 - 2019/10/11

N2 - Accurate snow depth observations are critical to assess water resources. More than a billion people rely on water from snow, most of which originates in the Northern Hemisphere mountain ranges. Yet, remote sensing observations of mountain snow depth are still lacking at the large scale. Here, we show the ability of Sentinel-1 to map snow depth in the Northern Hemisphere mountains at 1 km² resolution using an empirical change detection approach. An evaluation with measurements from ~4000 sites and reanalysis data demonstrates that the Sentinel-1 retrievals capture the spatial variability between and within mountain ranges, as well as their inter-annual differences. This is showcased with the contrasting snow depths between 2017 and 2018 in the US Sierra Nevada and European Alps. With Sentinel-1 continuity ensured until 2030 and likely beyond, these findings lay a foundation for quantifying the long-term vulnerability of mountain snow-water resources to climate change.

AB - Accurate snow depth observations are critical to assess water resources. More than a billion people rely on water from snow, most of which originates in the Northern Hemisphere mountain ranges. Yet, remote sensing observations of mountain snow depth are still lacking at the large scale. Here, we show the ability of Sentinel-1 to map snow depth in the Northern Hemisphere mountains at 1 km² resolution using an empirical change detection approach. An evaluation with measurements from ~4000 sites and reanalysis data demonstrates that the Sentinel-1 retrievals capture the spatial variability between and within mountain ranges, as well as their inter-annual differences. This is showcased with the contrasting snow depths between 2017 and 2018 in the US Sierra Nevada and European Alps. With Sentinel-1 continuity ensured until 2030 and likely beyond, these findings lay a foundation for quantifying the long-term vulnerability of mountain snow-water resources to climate change.

KW - cryospheric science

KW - hydrology

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85073165596

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-019-12566-y

DO - 10.1038/s41467-019-12566-y

M3 - Article

C2 - 31604957

VL - 10

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 4629

ER -

Snow Depth Variability in the Northern Hemisphere Mountains Observed from Space

Abstract

Keywords

EGS Disciplines

UN SDGs

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