Constraining snow water equivalent of wet snowpacks in southeast Alaska
Annals of Glaciology
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Abstract
Quantifying snow water equivalent (SWE) with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in a
warming climate is complicated by the incidence and variability of liquid water in snow. Snow
surveys conducted during the melt season serve as a valuable analog to conditions under future
warming. Here, we determine the variability of wet snowpack properties (relative permittivity
and density) to quantify their impact on SWE estimates using GPR. We collected spatially
continuous snowpack measurements with 400 MHz GPR in 2012 and 2021 across repeat
transects (~150 km each year) along with spring and summer snow depth and density
measurements from snow pits and snow cores. Snow relative permittivity values ranged between
2.06 – 2.62 in 2012 and 2.11 – 5.11 in 2021, resulting in calculated volumetric liquid water
content (LWC) between 1.7% – 5.7% in 2012 and 2.1% – 16% in 2021. This variability in snow
relative permittivity results in SWE uncertainties between 8% – 33%, with more extreme cases
reaching 13% – 45%. We attribute this uncertainty to spatial and temporal variability in liquid
water content when using GPR to estimate SWE. As snowpacks become wetter with rising
atmospheric temperatures, GPR surveys should include in-situ relative permittivity
measurements to reduce depth and SWE interpretation uncertainties.
Suggested Citation
Mannello, M., Braddock, S., Campbell, S., Erwin, E., Schild, K., McNeil, C., 2025, Constraining snow water equivalent of wet snowpacks in southeast Alaska: Annals of Glaciology, v. 66, e21, 9 p., https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2025.10014.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Constraining snow water equivalent of wet snowpacks in southeast Alaska |
| Series title | Annals of Glaciology |
| DOI | 10.1017/aog.2025.10014 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Publication Date | July 14, 2025 |
| Year Published | 2025 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Contributing office(s) | Alaska Science Center Water |
| Description | e21, 9 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Other Geospatial | southeast Alaska |