Abstract
Moisture content in the soil and snow in the alpine environment is an important factor, not only for environmentally oriented research, but also for decision making in agriculture and hazard management. Current observation techniques quantifying soil moisture or characterizing a snow pack often require dedicated instrumentation that measures either at point scale or at very large (satellite pixel) scale. Given the heterogeneity of both snow cover and soil moisture in alpine terrain, observations of the spatial distribution of moisture and snow-cover are lacking at spatial scales relevant for alpine hydrometeorology. This paper provides an overview of the challenges and status of the determination of soil moisture and snow properties in alpine environments. Current measurement techniques and newly proposed ones, based on the reception of reflected Global Navigation Satellite Signals (i.e., GNSS Reflectometry or GNSS-R), or the use of laser scanning are reviewed, and the perspectives offered by these new techniques to fill the current gap in the instrumentation level are discussed. Some key enabling technologies including the availability of modernized GNSS signals and GNSS array beamforming techniques are also considered and discussed.
Highlights
Stored moisture in soil and snow is an important factor in the hydrological cycle
We review and discuss the main measurement techniques for soil moisture and snow properties that are currently applicable to the alpine environment
The second research area develops and implements the classification algorithms, which are necessary for the production of digital terrain models (DTM) and for the assessment of scanning geometry, which influences the quality of Airborne laser-scanning (ALS)-derived products [124]
Summary
Stored moisture in soil and snow is an important factor in the hydrological cycle. Quantifying the spatiotemporal distribution of moisture is important for environmentally oriented research and for decision making in agriculture and hazard management. Determination of moisture in soil and snow in the alpine context is very important for local and downstream policy making and water resources management, which critically depends on understanding meteorological and hydrological processes in the complex alpine terrain. This includes the processes of heat and moisture transport in the atmospheric boundary layer and the interactions at the land surface. Since soil moisture determines water availability at the surface, and controls the partitioning of the incoming radiation into the latent and sensible heat flux, it is one of the main controls of the land-atmosphere feedbacks and a key component in the hydrological cycle Understanding these processes is essential for predicting natural hazards like landslides, droughts, and floods.
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