Abstract
An uncalibrated distributed multiphysics snow model driven by downscaled
weather forecasts (30-m, 15-min) was implemented as a Radar Observing
System Simulator (ROSS) in Senator Beck Basin (SBB), Colorado to
elucidate topographic controls on C-, X-and Ku-bands active microwave
sensing of mountain snowpacks. Phase-space maps of time-evolving
grid-scale ROSS volume backscatter show the accumulation branch of the
backscatter-snow water equivalent (σ-SWE) hysteresis seasonal loop that
is the physical basis for radar retrieval (direct inference) of SWE and
snowpack physical properties. ROSS results with snow-ground scattering
correction inferred from snow-free conditions capture well the seasonal
march of Sentinel-1 C-band backscatter, including spatial patterns tied
to elevation, slope, and aspect. Root Mean Square Deviations (RMSDs) do
not exceed ±3.2 dB for ripening snowpacks in early spring and ±2.4 dB
for dry snowpacks in the accumulation season when the mean absolute bias
is < 1 dB for all land-cover types with topographic slopes
30°. Grid-point RMSDs are attributed to the underestimation of snowfall
on upwind slopes compounded with forecast errors for the weather near
the ground. Like Sentinel-1, ROSS backscatter fields exhibit
frequency-independent single-scaling behavior within the 60-150 m scale
range for dry snowpacks in the accumulation season, while
frequency-dependent scaling behavior emerges in the ablation season.
This study demonstrates skillful physical modeling capabilities to
emulate Sentinel-1 observations in complex terrain. Conversely, it
suggests high readiness to retrieve snow mass and snowpack properties in
mountainous regions from radar measurements at high-spatial resolutions
enabled by SAR technology.