ASSESSMENT OF THE SNOW PRODUCTS USING IN-SITU DATA

Abstract: Ecology is the study of the complex ways that living things interact with their environment Deciduous plants handle the lack of water by shedding their leaves, which tend to evaporate water into the air. During cold winter months, most deciduous plants drop their leaves and go dormant. Evergreen plants keep their foliage, but their leaves and needles have a thick, waxy coatings to reduce water loss. In areas that receive frequent snow and may have cold weather year-round, such as in the Arctic, plants have adapted in other ways. Trees may grow close to the ground or grow in shapes that help them shed heavy snow more easily. Plants may hold onto dead leaves for insulation or use deep snow like a blanket to protect against the cold. Some evergreens also have a special valve in their cells. This valve automatically seals off individual frozen cells to prevent a chain reaction of freezing. Satellites are well suited to the measurement of snow cover because the high albedo of snow presents a good contrast with most other natural surfaces except clouds. NOAA has a variety of snow products including those based on satellite passive microwave sensors such as JPSS AMSR2 and ATMS. Snow information: Snow Cover Area, Snow Depth and Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) - is an important input to numerical weather and climate prediction models. The objective of this project is to evaluate the performance of satellite-based snow products over regions that have sparse in-situ data. Of special interest and mountain regions and remote areas including those over US and elsewhere. To accomplish the goal of the project, the following activities will be carried out: Collect regional historical snow data not available via public networks. Do a quantitative evaluation of the snow products using in-situ data.