Current satellite observing systems lack the capability to derive terrestrial snow mass and other parameters related to seasonal snow cover (e.g. snow melt-refreeze cycles) at the spatial resolution, synoptic sensitivity, and global coverage required for observational needs and operational environmental prediction.
This is a significant gap because increases in mid- and high latitude air temperatures at a rate well above the global average has led to reductions in the extent and mass of seasonal snow cover across the Northern hemisphere, with impacts on the global climate system and increased vulnerability of snow as a vital freshwater resource.
The required combination of revisit time, spatial coverage, measurement resolution, and sensitivity to the mass of snow on the ground necessitates a new observing concept in order to provide fundamental estimates of global snow water equivalent (SWE) for use in environmental prediction systems on time scales ranging from days (numerical weather prediction) to months (seasonal prediction) to decades (evaluation of climate projections).
SnowConcepts is a joint project by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (Finland), ENVEO Environmental Earth Observation Information Technology GmbH (Austria), German Aerospace Centre (Germany), Gamma Remote Sensing AG (Switzerland), Institute of Applied Physics “Nello Carrara” (Italy), and Environment and Climate Change Canada (Canada). The study is funded by the European Space Agency.