Generating better snowmelt maps based on satellite data

The main objective is the development, implementation and validation of methods and tools for generating maps of snowmelt area based on SAR data of the Sentinel-1 mission and the combination with snow products derived from optical sensors of Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 missions. The developed algorithm will be used to generate multi-sensor pan-European snow products. 

A key activity of the project is the development of a retrieval algorithm for mapping extent of wet snow areas which exploits the full technical and operational potential of the Sentinel-1 mission. Round robin experiments between available algorithms will be carried out to select the optimum algorithm. A key activity of the project is the development of a retrieval algorithm for mapping extent of wet snow areas which exploits the full technical and operational potential of the Sentinel-1 mission. Round robin experiments between available algorithms will be carried out to select the optimum algorithm. The focus will be on the use of Interferometric Wide swath mode data which is the standard operation mode of Sentinel-1 over land surfaces. Particular attention will be paid to the capability of dual polarization data, and the exploitation of the high spatial resolution and geometric accuracy of the Sentinel-1 data. Because C-band SAR is not sensitive to dry snow, the combination with snow maps derived from optical sensor is required in order to obtain complete pan-European snow maps. We plan to use data of the Sentinel-3 sensors SLSTR and OLCI for the pan-European snow maps, and coincident Sentinel-2 based snow maps (with high spatial resolution) primarily for evaluation and assessment of uncertainty for the combined Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-3 snow product.