Synergistic Potential of Optical and Radar Remote Sensing for Snow Cover Monitoring

Abstract

This research studies the characteristics of snow-covered area (SCA) from two vastly different sensors: optical (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, equipped on board the Terra satellite) and radar (Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on-board Sentinel-1 satellites). The focus are the five mountain ranges of the Iberian Peninsula (Cantabrian System, Central System, Iberian Range, Pyrenees, and Sierra Nevada). The MODIS product was selected to identify SCA dynamics in these ranges using the Probability of Snow Cover Presence Index (PSCPI). In addition, we evaluate the potential advantage of the use of SAR remote sensing to complete optical SCA under cloudy conditions. For this purpose, we utilize the Copernicus High-Resolution Snow and Ice SARWet Snow (HRS&I SWS) product. The Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada showed longer-lasting SCA duration and a higher PSCPI throughout the average year. Moreover, we demonstrate that the latitude gradient has a significant influence on the snowline elevation in the Iberian mountains (R2 ≥ 0.84). In the Iberian mountains, a general negative SCA trend is observed due to the recent climate change impacts, with a particularly pronounced decline in the winter months (December and January). Finally, in the Pyrenees, we found that wet snow detection has high potential for the spatial gap-filling of MODIS SCA in spring, contributing above 27% to the total SCA. Notably, the additional SCA provided in winter is also significant. Based on the results obtained in the Pyrenees, we can conclude that implementing techniques that combine SAR and optical satellite sensors for SCA detection may provide valuable additional SCA data for the other Iberian mountains, in which the radar product is not available.