ISSN 2070-7401 (Print), ISSN 2411-0280 (Online)
Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa
CURRENT PROBLEMS IN REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH FROM SPACE

  

Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2017, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 27-39

The accuracy of snow water equivalent anomalies retrieval from satellite data

L.M. Kitaev 1 , V.V. Tikhonov 2 , T.B. Titkova 1 
1 Institute of Geography RAS, Moscow, Russia
2 Space Research Institute RAS, Moscow, Russia
Accepted: 27.01.2017
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2017-14-1-27-39
The accuracy of snow water equivalent spatial and temporal variations retrieval from satellite data taking into account the variations in near-surface air temperature and precipitation of winter period is discussed. First of all, the analysis was conducted for cases of anomalous snow accumulation. It was performed for the territory of Eurasia in the borders of Russia for the period of 1979−2007. The discrepancies between the reconstructed and real mean multiyear snow water equivalent values reached 17−45%. The reconstructed and real snow water equivalents differed more than twofold in standard deviations. A moderate increase in real snow water equivalent was observed along with a decrease in the corresponding reconstructed values. The largest retrieval errors were typical of areas with high snowpack thickness, forest cover, mountainous relief, considerable multiyear growth of snow water equivalent. The anomalies of the real and reconstructed snow water equivalents were identified and their contributions into the integral variability were calculated. No similarities between the reconstructed and real anomalies were found for the given period. Therefore, real and retrieved from satellite data snow water equivalents have little similarity in value, spatial and temporal distribution and anomaly manifestation. The retrieval algorithms for satellite data should be improved to take into account the state of surface and snowpack structural characteristics. The dependencies obtained in this work can be used to correct reconstructed snow water equivalent values or fine-tune their calculation procedures.
Keywords: real and reconstructed snow water equivalents, near-surface air temperature, precipitation, multiyear variability, spatial variability, snow water equivalent anomaly
Full text

References:

  1. Baykov V.A., Bakirov N.K., Yakovlev A.A., Novye podkhody v teorii geostatisticheskogo modelirovaniya (New approaches in the theory of geostatistical modeling), Vestnik UGAGU, 2010, Vol. 14, No. 2 (37), pp. 209−215.
  2. Volodicheva N.A., Kitaev L.M., Krenke A.N., Oleinikov A.D., Mezhgodovye izmeneniya snezhnosti na Kavkaze i Vostochno-Evropeiskoi ravnine (The interannual changes in snowfall in the Caucasus and the East European Plain), Sneg i led, 2004, No. 96, pp. 138−143.
  3. Vtoroi otsenochnyi doklad Rosgidrometa ob izmeneniyakh klimata i ikh posledstviyakh na territorii Rossiiskoi Federatsii, (The second assessment report of Hydromet about climate change and their impact on the territory of the Russian Federation), Moscow: Roshydromet, 2014, 1008 p.
  4. Galakhov V.P., Imitatsionnoe modelirovanie kak metod glyaciologicheskikh rekonstrukcii gornogo oledeneniya (Imitation simulation as a method of glaciological reconstructions of mountain glaciers), Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2001, 134 p.
  5. Galahov V.P., Usloviya formirovaniya i raschet maksimal’nykh snegozapasov v gorakh (Conditions of formation and calculation of the maximum snow cover in the mountains), Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2003, 104 p.
  6. Gruza G.V., Ran’kova E.Y., Kleshchenko L.K., Smirnov V.D., O prostranstvennom osrednenii v zadachakh monitoringa klimata (About spatial averaging in climate monitoring tasks), Problemy ekologicheskogo monitoringa i modelirovaniya ekosistem, 2013, Volume XXV, pp. 42−71.
  7. Zhil’tsova E.L, Anisimov O.A., O tochnosti vosproizvedeniya temperatury i osadkov na terrotorii Rossii global’nymi klimaticheskimi arkhivami (About accuracy of evaluation of temperature and precipitation on the Russian territory through global climate archives), Meteorologiya i gidrologiya, 2009, No. 9, pp. 66−74.
  8. Kislov A.V., Kitaev L.M., Konstantinov I.S., Statisticheskaya struktura krupnomasshtabnykh osobennostei polya snezhnogo pokrova (Statistical structure of the large-scale features of the snow cover), Meteorologiya i gidrologiya, 2001, No. 8, pp. 98−104.
  9. Kitaev L.M., Krenke A.N., Titkova T.B., Klimaticheskie usloviya predelov narastaniya snegozapasov na severe Evrazii (Climatic conditions of rise limit of the snow storage in the north of Eurasia), Sneg i led, 2004, No. 94, pp. 117−126.
  10. Kitaev L.M., Trofimova L.B., Komarovskaya E.V., Danilovich I.S., Bil’dyug A.A., Mnogolethyaya izmenchivost’ osadkov i snezhnogo pokrova Vostochno-Evropeiskoi ravniny (Long-term variability of precipitation and snow cover formation of the East European Plain), Kriosfera Zemly, 2010, No. 3, pp. 77−81.
  11. Kitaev L.M., Tikhonov V.V., Boyarsky D.A., Titkova T.B., Komarova N.Y., Snezhniy pokrov Vostochn-Evropeiskoi ravniny po dannym mnogochastotnoi mikrovolnovoi sputnikovoi radiomenrii (Snow cover of the East European Plain, according to the multi-frequency microwave satellite radiometry), Sovremennie problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemly is kosmosa, 2012, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 249−257.
  12. Kitaev L.M., Titkova T.B., Korobov E.D., Izmenchivost’ snegonakopleniya i dinamika temperatury pochvy v svyazi s izmeneniyami lokal’noi meteorologicheskoi obstanovki
  13. (The variability of snow accumulation and soil temperature dynamics in relation to the local meteorological changes), Mnogoleynie protsessy v prirodnykh kompleksakh zapovednikov Rossii, Velikine Luki: Velikolukskaya gorodskaya tipografiya, 2012, pp.1−26.
  14. Kitaev L.M., Titkova T.B., Izmenchivost’ al’bedo snezhnogo pokrova – analiz sputnikovykh dannykh (The variability of the albedo of snow – the analysis of satellite data), Sovremennie problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemly is kosmosa, 2011, Vol. 8, No. 2., pp. 47−54.
  15. Kopanev I.D., Snezhniy pokrov na territorii SSSR (Snow cover over the USSR territory), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1978, 181 p.
  16. Kotlyakov V.M., Snezhnyi pokrov i ledniki Zemli (Snow cover and land of Earth), Moscow: Nauka, 2004, 448 p.
  17. Krenke A.N., Kitaev L.M., Razuvaev V.N., Izmenenie srokov zaleganiya snezhnogo pokrova na territorii byvshego SSSR v tselom I ego regionov v 1966−1995 gg. (Changing the timing of the snow cover on the territory of the former USSR as a whole and its regions in the 1966−1995), Kriosfera Zemli, 2000, No. 4. pp. 54−60.
  18. Krenke A.N., Kitaev L.M., Titkova T.B., Ocenka izmenenii snegozapasov na territorii Severnoi Evrazii v nachale XXI v. (na osnove model’nikh prognozov zimnikh temperatur i osadkov) (Estimation of snow cover changes in Northern Eurasia at the beginning of the XXI century. (based on model predictions of winter temperatures and precipitation)), Materialy glatsiologicheskikh issledovanii, 2009, Vol. 107, pp. 31−37.
  19. Nastavlenie gidrometeorologicheskim stantsiyam i postam. Vypusk 3, chast' 1 (Manual for hydrometeorological stations and posts. Issue 3, Part 1), Leningrad: Gidrometizdat, 1985, 299 p.
  20. Nosenko O.A., Nosenko G.A., Osobennosti povedeniya radioyarkostnykh temperatur SSM/I v subpolyarnykh regionakh Rossii v techenii zimy 2006/2007gg. (Features of behavior of SSM/I brightness temperature in the subpolar regions of Russia during the winter of 2006/2007), Sovremennie problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemly is kosmosa, 2008, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 160−164.
  21. Oleynikov A.D., Volodicheva N.A., Povtoryaemost’ mnogosnegnykh zim i lavinnykh katastrof na Bol’shom Kavkaze v XX stoletii (Repeatability snowy winters and avalanche disasters in the Great Caucasus in the twentieth century), Sneg i led, 2001, No. 91, pp. 87−94.
  22. Popova V.V., Polyakova I.A., Izmeneniya srokov razrusheniya snezhnogo pokrova na severe Evrazii v 1936−2008 gg.: vliyanie global’nogo potepleniya i rol’ krupnomasshtabnoi atmosfernoi tsirculyatsii (Changes in the timing of destruction of stable snow cover in northern Eurasia in 1936−2008: the impact of global warming and the role of large-scale atmospheric circulation), Sneg i led, 2013, Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 29−39.
  23. Rubinstein K.G., Gromov S.S., Zoloeva M.V., Dinamicheskaya klassifikaciya snegnogo pokrova (Dynamic classification of snow cover), Vychislitel’nye tekhnologii, 2006, Vol. 11, No. 57, pp. 31−37.
  24. Telegina A.A., Frolova N.L., Kitaev L.M., Titkova T.B., Otsenka tochnosti sputnikovoi informacii o snegozapasakh krupnykh vodosborov evropeiskoi territorii Rossii (Evaluation of the accuracy of snow storage satellite data on of large catchment areas in European Russia), Sovremennie problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemly is kosmosa, 2014, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 38−49.
  25. Trofimova E.B., Otrazhayushchaya sposobnost’ snezhnogo pokrova (The reflectivity of the snow cover), Universitetskii kompleks kak regional’niy tsentr obrazovaiya, nauki i kul’tury, Orenburg: Orenburgskii Gosudarstvennyi Universitet , 2014, pp. 1498−1500.
  26. Bjorgo E., Johannessen O la M., Miles M.W., Analysis of merged SMMR-SSMI time series of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice parameters 1978−1995, Geophisical Research Letters, 1997, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 413−416.
  27. Boyarskii D.A., Tikhonov V.V., The Influence of Stratigraphy on Microwave Radiation from Natural Snow Cover, J. of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications, 2000, Vol. 14, No. 9, pp. 1265−1285.
  28. Brown R.D., Mote P.W., The response of Northern Hemisphere snow cover to a changing Climate, Journ. of Climate, 2009, Vol. 22, No. 8, pp. 2124–2145.
  29. Cavalieri D.J., Parkinson C.L., Vinnikov K.Y., 30-Year satellite record reveals contrasting Arctic and Antarctic decadal sea ice variability, Geophysical research letters, 1970, Vol. 30, No. 18, pp. 124−139. DOI: 10.1029/2003GL018031, 2003.
  30. Chang A., Rango A., Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document for the AMSR-E Snow Water Equivalent Algorithm, Version 3.1., Greenbelt, MD, USA: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 2000, 124 p.
  31. Kitaev L., Krenke A., Konstantinov I., Kislov A., Razuvaev V., Martuganov R., The snow cover characteristics of Northern Eurasia and their relationship to climatic parameters, Boreal Environment Research, 2002, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 437−445.
  32. Tait A.B., Hall D.K., Foster J.L., Armstrong R.L., Utilizing multiple datasets for snow-cover mapping, Rem.Sens. Env., 2000, No. 72, pp. 111–126.