气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Accuracy of snow depth estimation in mountain and prairie environments by an unmanned aerial vehicle

CCPortal

DOI	10.5194/tc-10-2559-2016
	Accuracy of snow depth estimation in mountain and prairie environments by an unmanned aerial vehicle
	Harder P.; Schirmer M.; Pomeroy J.; Helgason W.
发表日期	2016
ISSN	19940416
卷号	10 期号:6
英文摘要	Quantifying the spatial distribution of snow is crucial to predict and assess its water resource potential and understand land-atmosphere interactions. High-resolution remote sensing of snow depth has been limited to terrestrial and airborne laser scanning and more recently with application of structure from motion (SfM) techniques to airborne (manned and unmanned) imagery. In this study, photography from a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to generate digital surface models (DSMs) and orthomosaics for snow cover at a cultivated agricultural Canadian prairie and a sparsely vegetated Rocky Mountain alpine ridgetop site using SfM. The accuracy and repeatability of this method to quantify snow depth, changes in depth and its spatial variability was assessed for different terrain types over time. Root mean square errors in snow depth estimation from differencing snow-covered and non-snow-covered DSMs were 8.8cm for a short prairie grain stubble surface, 13.7cm for a tall prairie grain stubble surface and 8.5cm for an alpine mountain surface. This technique provided useful information on maximum snow accumulation and snow-covered area depletion at all sites, while temporal changes in snow depth could also be quantified at the alpine site due to the deeper snowpack and consequent higher signal-to-noise ratio. The application of SfM to UAV photographs returns meaningful information in areas with mean snow depth > 30cm, but the direct observation of snow depth depletion of shallow snowpacks with this method is not feasible. Accuracy varied with surface characteristics, sunlight and wind speed during the flight, with the most consistent performance found for wind speeds < 10ms-1, clear skies, high sun angles and surfaces with negligible vegetation cover. © Author(s) 2016.
学科领域	accuracy assessment; airborne sensing; depth determination; digital terrain model; laser method; prairie; remotely operated vehicle; scanner; snow accumulation; snow cover; snowpack; spatial distribution; vegetation cover; water resource; wind velocity; Canada
语种	英语
scopus关键词	accuracy assessment; airborne sensing; depth determination; digital terrain model; laser method; prairie; remotely operated vehicle; scanner; snow accumulation; snow cover; snowpack; spatial distribution; vegetation cover; water resource; wind velocity; Canada
来源期刊	Cryosphere
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/119556
作者单位	Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Civil, Geological, and Environmental Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Harder P.,Schirmer M.,Pomeroy J.,et al. Accuracy of snow depth estimation in mountain and prairie environments by an unmanned aerial vehicle[J],2016,10(6).
APA	Harder P.,Schirmer M.,Pomeroy J.,&Helgason W..(2016).Accuracy of snow depth estimation in mountain and prairie environments by an unmanned aerial vehicle.Cryosphere,10(6).
MLA	Harder P.,et al."Accuracy of snow depth estimation in mountain and prairie environments by an unmanned aerial vehicle".Cryosphere 10.6(2016).