Measurement of Snow Depth Using a Low-Cost Mobile Laser Scanner

In this letter, we demonstrate the potential of a small, robust, and low-cost mobile scanner for snow-depth studies. Snow-surface model and depth data are needed for purposes such as flood forecasting, agriculture, optimal management of water resources, and in formulating global climate-change scenarios. Traditionally, manual snow-depth measurements are laborious, time-consuming, and costly. A mobile mapping system comprised of an Ibeo Lux laser scanner, operating at a wavelength of 905 nm, and a NovAtel SPAN-CPT inertial navigation system was used to produce geo-referenced point clouds. The data were acquired first in the fall when the ground was free of snow and then a second time in winter when there was snow on the ground. Reference values from a total of 94 locations were collected with an RTK GPS pole. The maximum reference snow depth was 80 cm. The obtained snow-depth bias was 0.3 cm, which indicated that the proposed data-processing approach was capable of avoiding errors due to laser penetration into the snow, and the root-mean-squared error was 5.5 cm. Mobile laser scanning appears to be a promising technology for cryospheric studies having potential, e.g., to calibrate gravimetric measurements and earth observation satellite data, especially when reference data are needed for areas that are too large for terrestrial laser scanning.