Publication Date:
2011-11-22
Description:
The snowfall in the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area during the winter of 2009/2010 was unprecedented and caused serious snow-related disruptions. In February 2010, snowfall totals approached 2 m, and because maximum temperatures were consistently below normal, snow remained on the ground the entire month. One of the biggest contributing factors to the unusually severe winter weather in 2009/10, throughout much of the mid latitudes, was the Arctic Oscillation. Unusually high pressure at high latitudes and low pressure at mid-latitudes, forced a persistent exchange of mass from north to south. In this investigation, a concerted effort was made to link remotely sensed falling snow observations to remotely sensed snow cover and snowpack observations in the Baltimore/Washington area. Specifically, the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) onboard the Aqua satellite was used to assess snow water equivalent (SWE), and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-B (AMSU-B) and Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) were employed to detect falling snow. AMSR-E passive microwave signatures in this study are both related to snow on the ground and to surface ice layers. In regards to falling snow, signatures indicative of snowfall can be observed in high frequency brightness temperatures of AMSU-B/MHS. Indeed, retrievals show an increase in SWE after the detection of falling snow. Yet this work also shows that falling snow intensity and or the presence of liquid water clouds impacts the ability to reliably detect SWE. Moreover, changes in the condition of the snowpack, especially in the surface features, negatively affect retrieval performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Print ISSN:
0885-6087
Electronic ISSN:
1099-1085
Topics:
Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying
,
Geography
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