Articles | Volume 5, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-403-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-403-2016
Research article
 | 
07 Sep 2016
Research article |  | 07 Sep 2016

Nordic Snow Radar Experiment

Juha Lemmetyinen, Anna Kontu, Jouni Pulliainen, Juho Vehviläinen, Kimmo Rautiainen, Andreas Wiesmann, Christian Mätzler, Charles Werner, Helmut Rott, Thomas Nagler, Martin Schneebeli, Martin Proksch, Dirk Schüttemeyer, Michael Kern, and Malcolm W. J. Davidson

Abstract. The objective of the Nordic Snow Radar Experiment (NoSREx) campaign was to provide a continuous time series of active and passive microwave observations of snow cover at a representative location of the Arctic boreal forest area, covering a whole winter season. The activity was a part of Phase A studies for the ESA Earth Explorer 7 candidate mission CoReH2O (Cold Regions Hydrology High-resolution Observatory).

The NoSREx campaign, conducted at the Finnish Meteorological Institute Arctic Research Centre (FMI-ARC) in Sodankylä, Finland, hosted a frequency scanning scatterometer operating at frequencies from X- to Ku-band. The radar observations were complemented by a microwave dual-polarization radiometer system operating from X- to W-bands. In situ measurements consisted of manual snow pit measurements at the main test site as well as extensive automated measurements on snow, ground and meteorological parameters.

This study provides a summary of the obtained data, detailing measurement protocols for each microwave instrument and in situ reference data. A first analysis of the microwave signatures against snow parameters is given, also comparing observed radar backscattering and microwave emission to predictions of an active/passive forward model.

All data, including the raw data observations, are available for research purposes through the European Space Agency and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. A consolidated dataset of observations, comprising the key microwave and in situ observations, is provided through the ESA campaign data portal to enable easy access to the data.