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Snowmelt Detection with Calibrated, Enhanced‐Resolution Brightness Temperatures (CETB) in Colorado Watersheds
Author(s) -
Johnson Mitchell T.,
Ramage Joan,
Troy Tara J.,
Brodzik Mary J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2018wr024542
Subject(s) - snowmelt , snowpack , environmental science , snow , terrain , meltwater , remote sensing , meteorology , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , geography , geotechnical engineering , cartography
Understanding the timing of snowmelt is critical for water resources management in snow‐dominated watersheds. Passive microwave remote sensing can be used to estimate snowmelt events through brightness temperature satellite observations. Previous studies were limited to lower resolution (~25 km or coarser) datasets, making it difficult to quantify snowpack variability in heterogeneous, high‐relief areas. This study investigates the use of recently available Calibrated, Enhanced‐Resolution Passive Microwave Daily EASE‐Grid 2.0 Brightness Temperature ESDR (CETB) to estimate snowmelt timing at much higher spatial resolution (~3‐6 km) than has been previously available. This study investigates the effectiveness of the CETB product for snowmelt detection in several locations in Colorado (North Park, Rabbit Ears, Fraser) that were the sites of previous ground/airborne surveys during the NASA Cold Land Processes Field Experiment (CLPX 2002‐2003), along with data for the Senator Beck Basin from the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies (CSAS). We compare melt variability with nearby air temperature and stream discharge to show that the new CETB product allows detection of hydrologic processes in mountainous watersheds. We show that the higher resolution CETB product can detect snowmelt in heterogeneous terrain more accurately than the coarser resolution product in terms of the number of winter melt events and seasonal melt onset date. This work lays the foundation for the utilization of higher resolution reprocessed CETB data for snowpack evolution more broadly in a range of environments.