SIR-C/X-SAR investigations of snow properties in alpine region

In hydrological investigations, modeling and forecasting of snow melt runoff requires information about snowpack properties and their spatial variability. This study demonstrates the capabilities of the SIR-C/X-SAR, a multi-frequency and multi-polarization spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR), on deriving snow wetness, and snow water equivalence. In contrast to a single-polarization SAR, this study shows that SIR-C/X-SAR has the capabilities to (1) estimate free liquid water content on the top of snowpack with C-band measurements quantitatively, and (2) infer snow density and ground dielectric and roughness properties with L-band measurements, in addition to map both dry and wet snow cover with the multi-frequency and multi-polarization measurements