Radiometric investigation on different snow covers in Svalbard

This paper studies the relationship between reflectance and physical characteristics of the snow cover in the Arctic. Field data were acquired on different snow and ice surfaces during a survey carried out at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard in spring 1998. In each session of measurements reflectance in the spectral range 350-2500 nm, snow data including temperature, grain size and shape, density and water content, surface layer morphology, vertical profile of the snow pack were collected. A detailed analysis of reflectance based on snow physical structure was performed. Field reflectance data were also re-sampled at the spectral intervals of Landsat TM to compare the ability of identifying different snow targets at discrete wavelength intervals. This analysis shows that reliable data on snow structure and thickness are necessary to understand albedo changes of the snow surfaces.