Table 2.
Overview of observation methods in quantifying various snow parameters
| Target parameter(s) | Method(s) | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Destructive ground-based snow observations | ||
| Snow depth | Simple (avalanche) or semi-automated probes (e.g. MagnaProbe) | e.g. Sturm et al. (2006) |
| Specific surface area (SSA) (i.e. the surface area of ice per unit mass) | Near-infrared photography and infrared reflectance methods | e.g. Matzl and Schneebeli (2006), Gallet et al. (2009) Arnaud et al. (2011), and Montpetit et al. (2012) |
| Penetration resistance and deviation of snow density, grain parameters, and SSA. | SnowMicroPen (Highly resolved measurements (250 measurements/mm) | Schneebeli and Johnson (1998) and Proksch et al. (2015) |
| Snowfall/new snow | Snow board (i.e. new-snow observations are being conducted by placing a board (snow board) on the snow surface and revisiting it every 24 h to read the additional snow height | e.g. Fierz et al. (2009) |
| Liquid water content in snow | ‘Denoth capacity probe’ or ‘Finnish Snow Fork’ (e.g. used to deriving dielectric/conduction properties of the snow) | Denoth (1994) and Sihvola and Tiuri (1986) |
| Non-destructive ground-based snow observations | ||
| Snow depth | Acoustic snow-depth sensors, ultrasonic methods, lasers, manual readings at stakes, and automatic readings utilizing time-lapse cameras | |
| Snow density and snow bulk liquid water content | Upward-looking ground penetrating radar (upGPR) Combination of upGPR with buried GPS sensors (allows for direct conversion for density, SWE and liquid water content) Time domain reflectometer (TDR) |
e.g. Mitterer et al. (2011), Avanzi et al. (2014), Heilig et al. (2015), Schmid et al. (2014, 2015), and Stacheder (2005) |
| Snow water equivalent (SWE) | Snow pillows or snow scales weigh the mass of the snowpack above the sensors and convert this to SWE | |
| Snow albedo | Net radiometer | e.g. Michel et al. (2008) |
| Snow-cover fraction | Derived from hourly-daily digital photos acquired from automatic time-lapse digital cameras installed in terrestrial areas, e.g. near glaciers and ice fields | e.g. Bernard et al. (2013) |
| Avalanche hazard and activity | Seismic sensor | Reiweger et al. (2015) |
| Infrasound arrays | e.g. Van Herwijnen and Schweizer (2011), Havens et al. (2014) |