Zhurnal Radioelektroniki - Journal of Radio Electronics. eISSN 1684-1719. 2021. No. 7
ContentsFull text in Russian (pdf)
DOI https://doi.org/10.30898/1684-1719.2021.7.3
UDC 621.369.9
Measurement of water equivalent, average density and height of layered snow cover using UWB electromagnetic pulses. Theoretical investigation
K. V. Muzalevskiy
Kirensky Institute of Physics, Federal Research Center KSC Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Akademgorodok 50, bld. 38, Krasnoyarsk 660036, Russia
The paper was received on July 5, 2021
Abstract. In this work, the processes of interaction of ultra-wideband (UWB) pulses with the duration of 0.47 ns with layered dry snow cover are theoretically investigated. The layered structure of the snow cover was modeled on the basis of experimental data on the height and density profile of the snow cover, which were measured in field on the test plot of an agricultural field in the area of the village. Minino, Krasnoyarsk Territory from November 12, 2020 to March 21, 2021. It is shown that the snow water equivalent (SWE) can be estimated from the time delay of the pulse reflected from the snow-soil interface with the coefficient of determination (R2) R2 = 0.98 and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) RMSE = 5.6 mm in the case of thickness from 4-6 to 39cm and an average density from 0.21 to 0.37 g/cm3 of snow cover. It is shown that the average density of snow cover linearly depends on the amplitude ratio of impulses reflected from the boundaries, snow-soil and air-snow (R2 = 0.55, RMSE = 0.04 g/cm3). The established dependencies make it possible to estimate the height of the snow cover with R2 = 0.95, RMSE = 2.9 cm. The accuracy of the proposed method for measuring SWE, average density and height of snow cover should be further investigated depending on variations in temperature, moisture, density, and texture of frozen soil, as well as under different moisturized conditions of snow. The obtained results are particular relevance in connection with the possibility of implementing this remote sensing method from the UAV, which opens up the prospects for creating a technology for UWB radar mapping of the main characteristics of the snow cover for use in precision farming systems.
Key words: radiolocation, ultra-wideband pulses, snow cover, snow water equivalent, snow density, height of snow cover, frozen soil.
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For citation:
Muzalevskiy K.V. Measurement of water equivalent, average density and height of layered snow cover using UWB electromagnetic pulses. Theoretical investigation. Zhurnal Radioelektroniki [Journal of Radio Electronics]. 2021. No.7. https://doi.org/10.30898/1684-1719.2021.7.3 (In Russian)