About this Research Topic
Remote sensing of the cryosphere is an important topic of modern environmental and earth sciences. As snow and firn permanently cover large polar ice sheets such as Greenland and Antarctica, their monitoring represents a fundamental tool for evaluating future sea-level rise. Climate change is known to impact the Cryosphere by accelerating the melting, and the loss of snow and ice, both in mid-latitude and polar regions. Glaciers and snow are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. Remote and proximal sensing of snow and ice properties are fundamental tools for evaluating the temporal and spatial variability of snow and ice properties. Those properties can be retrieved from multi-spectral, hyper-spectral, thermal, and radar observations. In particular, a new generation of satellite data opened a new perspective for the remote sensing of the Cryosphere on a global scale.
Recent observations revealed that several types of impurities can exert an impact on the optical and thermal properties of snow and ice. In particular, inorganic (mineral dust, volcanic tephra) and organic (cryoconite, algae) particles can act as light-absorbing impurities when deposited or resurfaced on snow and glaciers. Since these particles efficiently absorb solar radiation, they induce a decrease in the albedo of snow and ice, and they promote its melting. The impact of these impurities can be monitored using remote sensing data. At the same time, the presence of liquid water content in surface snow and ice also plays an important role in surface energy balance. The presence of liquid water can be also detected using different optical, thermal, and radar sensors.
The main subject of this Research Topic is the presentation of modern advances in the development of experimental techniques and theoretical studies in the context of remote sensing of the cryosphere using ground-based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), airborne and satellite observations. The main parameters of interest are: snow water equivalent, snow thickness, snow liquid water content, snow and ice albedo, snow grain size, snow specific surface area, concentration and type of impurities, and snow/ice extent.
Recent observations revealed that several types of impurities can exert an impact on the optical and thermal properties of snow and ice. In particular, inorganic (mineral dust, volcanic tephra) and organic (cryoconite, algae) particles can act as light-absorbing impurities when deposited or resurfaced on snow and glaciers. Since these particles efficiently absorb solar radiation, they induce a decrease in the albedo of snow and ice, and they promote its melting. The impact of these impurities can be monitored using remote sensing data. At the same time, the presence of liquid water content in surface snow and ice also plays an important role in surface energy balance. The presence of liquid water can be also detected using different optical, thermal, and radar sensors.
The main subject of this Research Topic is the presentation of modern advances in the development of experimental techniques and theoretical studies in the context of remote sensing of the cryosphere using ground-based, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), airborne and satellite observations. The main parameters of interest are: snow water equivalent, snow thickness, snow liquid water content, snow and ice albedo, snow grain size, snow specific surface area, concentration and type of impurities, and snow/ice extent.
Keywords: Snow Extent, Snow Albedo, Snow Pollutants, Snow Wetness, Snow Grain Size, Snow Specific Surface Area, Snow Density
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