Remote measurement of the water content of snowpacks

Electronic equipment for sensing moisture content of snowpacks is described. Components of electronic test equipment are illustrated and methods of conducting tests are explained. Possibilities for airborne sensing are examined

Baffle system employing reflective surfaces

Reflective baffles are proposed to reject off-axis light entering a telescope. Toroidal surfaces and adjacent cones are positioned so that off-axis rays make multiple reflections between these two surfaces. Meridional rays are reflected approximately parallel to the entering direction. Skew rays are reflected obliquely, but leave the telescope aperture. The range of incident angles for which these reflections are obtained is approximately 45 deg. A system is described that is designed specifically for the Space Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). Because of its reflective properties, the proposed baffle system rejects about 90 deg of the heat load from the SIRTF sunshade that would be absorbed in systems of conventional black baffles

Multilayered models for electromagnetic reflection amplitudes

The remote sensing of snowpack characteristics with surface installations or with an airborne system could have important applications in water resource management and flood prediction. To derive some insight into such applications, the electromagnetic response of multilayer snow models is analyzed. Normally incident plane waves are assumed at frequencies ranging from 10 to the 6th power to 10 to the 10th power Hz, and amplitude reflection coefficients are calculated for models having various snow-layer combinations, including ice sheets. Layers are defined by a thickness, permittivity, and conductivity; the electrical parameters are constant or prescribed functions of frequency. To illustrate the effect of various layering combinations, results are given in the form of curves of amplitude reflection coefficients, versus frequency for a variety of models. Under simplifying assumptions, the snow thickness and effective dielectric constant can be estimated from the reflection coefficient variations as a function of frequency

Coherent microwave backscatter of natural snowpacks

The backscatter of natural snowpacks was measured using a swept-frequency system operating from 5.8 to 8.0 GHz. Snow layering produced sequences of maxima and minima in backscatter intensity, with typical peak-to-valley ratios of 15 db. Wetness produced in the upper portion of the snowpack by solar heat input enhanced the effect of layering. The layer response persisted for incidence exhibits predominantly coherent properties. Frequency modulation of the incident signal masked the layer response by averaging the unmodulated response over the bandwidth represented by the modulation. Further changes in backscatter were attributed to changes in wetness in the surface regions of the snowpack; for a fixed frequency of 13.5 GHz and incidence angle of 39 deg, the backscatter decreased typically 15 db between 11 A.M. and noon, and returned to approximately its initial level of overnight

Snow wetness measurements for melt forecasting

A microwave technique for directly measuring snow pack wetness in remote installations is described. The technique, which uses satellite telemetry for data gathering, is based on the attenuation of a microwave beam in transmission through snow