Snow stratigraphy measurements with high-frequency FMCW radar: Comparison with snow micro-penetrometer

Abstract

The stratigraphy of an alpine snowpack is very important for avalanche danger assessment, as well as interpretation of remote sensing measurements for hydrological purposes. Since spatial variability is often widespread, due mainly to wind, micro-climatic and topographic effects, extrapolating point measurements can be difficult. Tools which can quickly characterize snowpack stratigraphy, such as high frequency radar and mechanical probes, will be required for a complete understanding of the effects of spatial variability, however interpretation of these kinds of measurements still remains challenging. We compare measurements from a portable 8–18 GHz Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar with SnowMicroPenetrometer (SMP) and standard snowpit measurements. Although significant variability existed at the sub-meter scale, major stratigraphic horizons could be followed along radar profiles and identified in SMP measurements. A very thin hard crust (0.2–0.4 mm) that was continuous caused strong signals that were identifiable in both the SMP and the radar measurements at five different sites along a 10 m traverse. Two other more subtle transitions in the SMP signal were highly correlated with the locations of radar reflections. This work suggests that combining FMCW radar measurements, to characterize snowpack geometry, with SMP measurements, to characterize mechanical properties of layers, may be a useful technique for quantifying the spatial variability of the snowpack.