Dry snow backscattering sensivity on density change for SWE estimation

Nikola Besic (1, 2) , Gabriel Vasile (1) , Jocelyn Chanussot (1) , Srdjan Stankovic (2) , Jean-Pierre Dedieu (3) , Guy d'Urso (4) , Dider Boldo (5) , Jean-Philippe Ovarlez (6, 7)

1 GIPSA-SIGMAPHY - GIPSA - Signal Images Physique
2 Department of Electrical Engineering
3 LTHE - Laboratoire d'étude des transferts en hydrologie et environnement
4 EDF - EDF
5 EDF R&D - EDF R&D
6 SONDRA - Sondra, CentraleSupélec, Université Paris-Saclay (COmUE)
7 ONERA - The French Aerospace Lab [Palaiseau]

This paper provides comprehensive analysis of the dry snow pack backscattering coefficient dependence on the density change, for various SAR sensor parameters and chosen dry snow pack parameters, characteristic for the region of French Alps. As the result, qualitative conclusions, based on applying fundamental scattering theories (Rayleigh scattering model, Quasi Crystalline Approximation, Integral Equation Model) on the particular distributed target are presented. They represent the ground for semi-empirical models, which may provide a satisfactory link between backscattering coefficient and snow density (as one of the quantities defining SWE), as well as the guidelines for the further radar acquisitions over the Alpine region in France.

Mots clés: SAR; backscattering; SWE; sensitivity; snow density

Domaines: Electromagnétisme; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]

Nikola Besic, Gabriel Vasile, Jocelyn Chanussot, Srdjan Stankovic, Jean-Pierre Dedieu, et al.. Dry snow backscattering sensivity on density change for SWE estimation. IGARSS 2012 - IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Jul 2012, Munich, Germany. pp.4418-4421, ⟨10.1109/IGARSS.2012.6350393⟩. ⟨hal-00726925v2⟩