scholarly journals An assessment of sub snow GPS for quantification of snow water equivalent

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ladina Steiner ◽  
Michael Meindl ◽  
Charles Fierz ◽  
Alain Geiger

Abstract. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) contribute to various Earth observation applications. The present study investigates the potential and limitations of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to estimate in situ water equivalents of the snow cover (snow water equivalent, SWE) by using buried GPS antennas. GPS derived SWE is estimated over three seasons (2015/16–2017/18) at a high Alpine test site in Switzerland. Results are validated against state of the art reference sensors: snow scale, snow pillow, and manual observations. SWE is estimated with a high correspondence to the reference sensors for all three seasons. Results agree with a median relative bias below 10 % and are highly correlated to the mean of the three reference sensors. The sensitivity of the SWE quantification is assessed for different GPS ambiguity resolution techniques, as the results strongly depend on the GPS processing.

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 3161-3175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ladina Steiner ◽  
Michael Meindl ◽  
Charles Fierz ◽  
Alain Geiger

Abstract. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) contribute to various Earth observation applications. The present study investigates the potential and limitations of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to estimate in situ water equivalents of the snow cover (snow water equivalent, SWE) by using buried GPS antennas. GPS-derived SWE is estimated over three seasons (2015/16–2017/18) at a high Alpine test site in Switzerland. Results are validated against state-of-the-art reference sensors: snow scale, snow pillow, and manual observations. SWE is estimated with a high correspondence to the reference sensors for all three seasons. Results agree with a median relative bias below 10 % and are highly correlated to the mean of the three reference sensors. The sensitivity of the SWE quantification is assessed for different GPS ambiguity resolution techniques, as the results strongly depend on the GPS processing.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (24) ◽  
pp. 5536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Rover ◽  
Alfonso Vitti

Snowpack is an important fresh water storage; the retrieval of snow water equivalents from satellite data permits to estimate potentially available water amounts which is an essential parameter in water management plans running in several application fields (e.g., basic needs, hydroelectric, agriculture, hazard and risk monitoring, climate change studies). The possibility to assess snowpack height from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) observations by means of the GNSS reflectometry technique (GNSS-R) has been shown by several studies. However, in general, studies are being conducted using observations collected by continuously operating reference stations (CORS) built for geodetic purposes and equipped with geodetic-grade instruments. Moreover, CORS are located on sites selected according to criteria different from those more suitable for snowpack studies. In this work, beside an overview of key elements of GNSS reflectometry, single-frequency GNSS observations collected by u-blox M8T GNSS receivers and patch antennas from u-blox and Tallysman have been considered for the determination of antenna height from the snowpack surface on a selected test site. Results demonstrate the feasibility of GNSS-R even with non-geodetic-grade instruments, opening the way towards diffuse GNSS-R targeted applications.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Beutel ◽  
Andreas Biri ◽  
Ben Buchli ◽  
Alessandro Cicoira ◽  
Reynald Delaloye ◽  
...  

Abstract. Permafrost warming is coinciding with accelerated mass movements, talking place especially in steep, mountainous topography. While this observation is backed up by evidence and analysis of both remote sensing as well as repeat terrestrial surveys undertaken since decades much knowledge is to be gained about the specific details, the variability and the processes governing these mass movements in the mountain cryosphere. This dataset collates data of continuously acquired kinematic observations obtained through in-situ Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) instruments that have been designed and implemented in a large-scale multi field-site monitoring campaign across the whole Swiss Alps. The landforms covered include rock glaciers, high-alpine steep bedrock bedrock as well as landslide sites, most of which are situated in permafrost areas. The dataset was acquired at 54 different stations situated at locations from 2304 to 4003 m a.s.l and comprises 209’948 daily positions derived through double-differential GNSS post-processing. Apart from these, the dataset contains down-sampled and cleaned time series of weather station and inclinometer data as well as the full set of GNSS observables in RINEX format. Furthermore the dataset is accompanied by tools for processing and data management in order to facilitate reuse, open alternate usage opportunities and support the life-long living data process with updates. To date this dataset has seen numerous use cases in research as well as natural-hazard mitigation and adaptation due to climate change.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Jorge Ruiz ◽  
Juha Lemmetyinen ◽  
Anna Kontu ◽  
Jouni Pulliainen

<p>Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) imagery is a promising technique for retrieving Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). It exploits the relation of the interferometric phase to the amount and density of the snow in the radar signal path, leading to a quasi-linear relation with SWE (Guneriussen et al., 2001; Leinss et al., 2015). Here, we analyze timeseries of Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2 interferometric image pairs, collected over a test site in Sodankylä, Northern Finland, during the winter of 2019-2020. The satellite imagery is complemented by tower-based SAR observations using SodSAR (Sodankylä SAR) a 1-10GHz fully polarimetric SAR instrument. Typical satellite visit times (7 and 14 days) are compared with the 12-hour temporal resolution provided by SodSAR. Interferometric pairs from the three sensors are generated, and the interferograms are used to estimate the increase in SWE between the image acquisitions. Retrieved SWE is compared with measurements of an in-situ SWE scale, as well as manual ground observations made in the area. Coherence conservation and its relation with various meteorological events are also analyzed.</p>


Author(s):  
M. O. Ehigiator

Geophysical investigation was conducted at Okada community in ovia North Local Govertment area of Edo state to determine the prospect of aquifer zone. The Petrozenith PZ-02 Terrameter, one of the Electrical Resistivity Equipment was used to conduct a Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) in the study area. The Garmin Etrex 10 Global Navigation satellite systems (GNSS) was used to acquire Geodetic coordinates of point where VES observations were made. This research was carried out as a pre-drilling Hydro-geophysical survey conducted for the purpose of surveying and studying the proposed water borehole site at Okada Community that has suffered acute water problems for a very long time. There have been series of boreholes drilled in the studied area but all are dry wells. This survey was conducted to investigate the subsurface complexity of the sites in respect of lithology and to recommend the total drill depth based on the prospective aquifer unit so identified. Result of interpretation suggests that the area is underlain with substantive aquiferous formation but at a depth not exceeding 121.60 m (398.95 ft), which is the lower aquifer unit. The value of elevation at point of observation referenced to mean sea level is 94 m.


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