A Comparison of Snowpack Properties Derived from SSM/I Emissivity Data with Snowpack Properties Derived from SSM/I Brightness Temperature Data

Snowpack properties highly influence the microwave scattering. Brightness temperature from SSM/I has the effect of atmosphere especially in high frequency channels. Microwave emissivities, which have been derived by removing the contribution of the atmosphere, clouds, and rain, can also be used to estimate snowpack properties. In order to improve microwave based Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) retrievals, snow pack properties variations need to be taken to account. The sensitivity of passive microwave satellite observations to snow characteristics is evaluated, between 19 and 85 GHz, for the Great Plains area in USA and Canada. A microwave snow emission model was applied to the data base to retrieve snowpack properties. The results indicate emissivities at high frequency (85 GHz) are very sensitive to the presence of snow on the ground, even for very low snow depth, they also show a better performance in estimation of snowpack properties.