Determination of snow water equivalent using RADARSAT SAR data in eastern Canada

Abstract

In the 1998-1999 winter, the operational feasibility of using RADARSAT SAR data to estimate the spatial distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) in a large hydroelectric complex managed by Hydro-Québec (La Grande River watershed) has been successfully demonstrated. This watershed is located in the subarctic climatic region in the north-west of the Québec province. The vegetation consists of moderately dense to open Black Spruce forests, open lands, burned lands and peat bogs. In the last few years, an original approach well adapted for this region has been developed to estimate the SWE from SAR data (ERS-1, RADARSAT). This approach is based on the fact that the snow cover characteristics influence the underlying soil temperature which influences the dielectric properties of the soil and then the recorded backscattering signal. Then, a linear relationship between the backscattering ratios of a winter image and a snow-free (fall) image, and the snowpack thermal resistance (thermal insulation properties) has been established. Consequently, the algorithm infers the SWE from the estimated thermal resistance and the measured mean density of the snowpack. This algorithm has been implemented within a MapInfo™ application that has been named EQeau. It allows mapping of the spatial distribution of the estimated SWE at the desired level (pixel, square grid, sub-watershed). During the 1998-1999 winter, EQeau has been used successfully in a pre-operational mode using calibrated Wide beam images (W1) from RADARSAT. The algorithm has given mean estimated SWE values similar to the SWE values derived from Hydro-Quebec snow transects (relative difference between 1% and 13%). Also, the SWE increase measured from January to March 1999 is clearly detected on the maps covering almost 77 000 km2. The next steps will be the evaluation of the ScanSAR images and the demonstration of the economical advantages of using RADARSAT data in a hydrological forecasting system. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.