A new blended snow product using visible, microwave and scatterometer satellite data

For this blended product, snow cover extent, snow water equivalent (SWE) and snowmelt are mapped and measured globally on a daily or near-daily basis, initially at a resolution of 25 km, utilizing Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for NASA´s Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) passive microwave data and QuikSCAT scatterometer data. A snow algorithm referred to as the Air Force, NASA Snow Algorithm (ANSA) has been developed, and is still being fine tuned, to derive the above stated snow parameters. The algorithm results have thus far been evaluated in the lower Great Lakes area of North America, in Colorado (Cold Lands Project Experiment sites) in portions of Finland, and eastern Turkey.