New approaches and error assessment to snow cover thickness and density using air temperature data at different heights

• Main Authors: García-Maroto, Diego, Durán, Luis, Hernández, Miguel Ángel de Pablo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 05-02-2024
• Subjects: Physics - Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2402.02927

(2024). Science of The Total Environment (Vol. 926, p. 171744).
Elsevier BV Snow poles are inexpensive systems composed of a wooden mast with temperature
sensors affixed at varying heights with the purpose of estimating the snow
depth. They are frequently utilised in cold, remote regions where the
maintenance of complex monitoring instruments becomes impractical. In this
study, snow cover thickness is determined using different methods, based on the
thermal behaviour of air temperature measured by a snow pole on Deception
Island, Antarctica. The methods are compared to high-resolution measurements of
snow depth obtained using an ultrasonic sensor at the same site. A new modified
method is proposed and shown to give the best results. Errors and sensitivity
to chosen thresholds of the various methods have been compared. Sensitivity
tests have been also conducted to evaluate the impact of missing data from some
of the sensors. Finally, the insulating effect on the thermal signal produced
by the snow is used to obtain information on the snowpack density. Promising
results have been found from this effort, opening new possibilities for the
usage of snow poles and may lead to future studies.