Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-29T03:05:16.577Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Determination of actual snow-covered area using Landsat TM and digital elevation model data in Glacier National Park, Montana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Dorothy K. Hall ,
James L. Foster ,
Janet Y.L. Chien  and
George A. Riggs
Dorothy K. Hall
Affiliation:
Hydrological Sciences Branch, Code 974, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
James L. Foster
Affiliation:
Hydrological Sciences Branch, Code 974, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Janet Y.L. Chien
Affiliation:
General Sciences Corporation, 6100 Chevy Chase Drive, Laurel, MD 20707, USA
George A. Riggs
Affiliation:
RDS Corporation, 7855 Walker Drive, Suite 460, Greenbelt, MD 20770, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In the future, data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) will be employed to map snow in an automated environment at a resolution of 250 m to 1 km. Using Landsat thematic mapper (TM) data, an algorithm, SNOMAP, has been developed to map snow-covered area. This algorithm will be used, with appropriate modification, with MODIS data following the launch of the first Earth Observing System (EOS) platform in 1998. SNOMAP has been shown to be successful in mapping snow in a variety of areas using TM data. However, significant errors may be present in mountainous areas due to effects of topography. To increase the accuracy of mapping global snow-covered area in the future using MODIS data, digital elevation model (DEM) data have been registered to TM data for parts of Glacier National Park, Montana, so that snow cover on mountain slopes can be mapped. This paper shows that the use of DEM data registered to TM data increases the accuracy of mapping snow-covered area. Using SNOMAP on a subscene within the 14 March 1991 TM scene of northwestern Montana, 215 km2 of snow is mapped when TM data are used alone to map the snow cover. We show that about 1062 km2 of snow are actually present as measured when the TM and DEM data are registered. Approximately five times more snow is present when the effects of topography are considered for this subscene, which is in a rugged area in Glacier National Park. A simple model has been developed to determine the relationship between terrain relief and the amount of correction that must be applied to map actual snow-covered area in Glacier National Park using satellite data alone.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 31 , Issue 177 , April 1995 , pp. 191 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, T.R., and Walsh, S.J.. 1993. Characterizing multitemporal alpine snowmelt patterns for ecological inferences. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 59: 1521–1529.Google Scholar
Carroll, T.R. 1990. Operational airborne and satellite snow cover products of the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center. In: Proceedings of the fortyseventh annual Eastern Snow Conference, June 7–8, 1990, Bangor, Maine. Hanover, NH: US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL Special Report 90–44): 87–98.Google Scholar
Chang, A.T.C., Foster, J.L, and Hall, D.K.. 1987. Nimbus-7 SMMR-derived global snow cover parameters. Annals of Glaciology 9: 39–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dozier, J. 1989. Spectral signature of alpine snow cover from the Landsat Thematic Mapper. Remote Sensing of Environment 28: 9–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, D.K., Foster, J.L., Irons, J.R., and Dabney, P.W.. 1993. Airborne bidirectional radiances of snow-covered surfaces in Montana, USA. Annals of Glaciology 17: 35–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, D.K., Riggs, G.A., and Salomonson, V.V.. In press. Development of methods for mapping global snow cover using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Submitted to Remote Sensing of Environment.Google Scholar
Matson, M., and Wiesnet, D.R.. 1981. New database for climate studies. Nature 289: 451–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matson, M., Ropelewski, C.F., and Varnadore, M.S.. 1986. An atlas of satellite-derived northern hemisphere snow cover frequency. Washington, DC: National Weather Service.Google Scholar
Matson, M. 1991. NOAA satellite snow cover data. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 90: 213–218.Google Scholar
PCI. 1993. PACE terrain analysis version 5.2. Ontario, Canada: PCI.Google Scholar
Rango, A. 1993. Snow hydrology processes and remote sensing. Hydrological Processes 7: 121–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rango, A., and Martinec, J.. 1982. Snow accumulation derived from modified depletion curves of snow coverage. In: Symposium on Hydrological Aspects of Alpine and High Mountain Areas. Wallingford, England: International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS Publication 138): 83–90.Google Scholar
Riggs, G.A., Hall, D.K., and Salomonson, V.V.. 1994. A snow index for the Landsat thematic mapper and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer. In: Stein, T.L. (editor). Surface and atmospheric remote sensing: technologies, data analysis and interpretation. Proceedings of the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Piscataway, NJ: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers: Vol 4, 1942–1944.Google Scholar
Robinson, D.A., Dewey, K.F., and Heim, R.R. Jr 1993. Global snow cover monitoring: an update. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 74: 1689–1696.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salomonson, V.V., and Toll, D.L.. 1991. Execution phase (C/D) spectral band characteristics of the EOS moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS-N) facility instrument. Advances in Space Research 11: 231–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar