ESA’s GlobSnow to Keep an Eye on Earth’s Snow Cover
09.11.2010 - Logistics, Atmosphere & Space, Ice & Snow, Arctic
ESA’s GlobSnow project, led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), is bound to bring a new dimension top snow cover monitoring, as it will allow for near real-time satellite imaging of snow cover. Snow, one of the most important elements in the planet’s climate, meteorology and water systems, also poses a threat to communities via transportation shutdowns and floods.
The most important seasonal changes occur in the northern hemisphere, and the average winter expanse in these regions affects 20-40 million km², with an equivalent water volume of 2000-3000 km³. However, because of the limited coverage in especially remote areas of Eurasia and North America, mapping and quantifying the snow mantle has proved quite difficult.
The project will be filling a gap by providing accurate information on the snow mantle in the Northern Hemisphere through European and US Earth observation satellites. Programmed to run over one year, the project will be providing near real-time online information on snow cover on its website. While the data is still to be tested for use in hydrological modelling, flood forecasting and water resources management, researchers believe that long–term satellite data for the northern hemisphere is crucial in identifying and analyzing long-term climatic trends and changes.
