SURFACE MEASUREMENTS OF SNOW AND ICE FOR CORRELATION WITH AIRCRAFT AND SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS

A NETWORK OF STATIONS FOR OBSERVING SNOW AND ICE WERE ESTABLISHED IN NORTH AMERICA, STARTING IN 1946, TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE THICKNESS OF SEA, LAKE AND RIVER ICE, AND THE PROPERTIES OF SNOW COVER. IT COMPRISES OVER 100 STATIONS EXTENDING FROM THE WEST COAST OF ALASKA TO THE EAST COAST OF CANADA. RESULTS OF STUDIES USING THE DATA COLLECTED FROM THESE STATIONS SHOW THAT DISPITE AERIAL & YEARLY VARIATIONS DEFINITE PATTERNS IN THE MAGNITUDES OF THE VALUES EMERGE WHEN THEY ARE PLOTTED ON SMALL SCALE MAPS. AERIAL INFRARED AND PASSIVE MICROWAVE SYSTEMS ARE BEING STUDIED TO SEPARATE CLOUDS FROM SNOW-COVERED TERRAIN AND FOR PENETRATING CLOUDS TO OBTAIN SNOW AND ICE DATA. THE SEASONAL EXTENT OF THE EARTH'S SNOW AND ICE COVER CAN EASILY BE DETERMINED BY AIR- CRAFT AND SATELLITE RECONNAISSANCE. HOWEVER, DETERMINATION OF THE DEPTH AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SNOW COVER AND THICKNESS OF ICE ON LAKES, RIVERS, AND ALONG COAST LINES BY THESE REMOTE CENTERS IS IN AN EARLY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. CORRELATION OF THE REMOTE SENSING DATA WITH ACTUAL SURFACE CONDITIONS COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE USE OF THE EXISTING NETWORK OF SNOW AND ICE STATIONS.

  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Sr 127, 11 PP, 7 FIG, 1 TAB, 14 REF
  • Authors:
    • Bilello, M A
  • Publication Date: 1969-5

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  • Accession Number: 00218509
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Sep 30 1994 12:00AM