SnowEx is a multi-year, NASA-led campaign that aims to enhance remote sensing capabilities of snow in forested regions. SnowEx has completed four deployments during the boreal winter from 2016 to 2023 across mainly Colorado and Alaska for 2023. Several aircraft equipped with radars, radiometers, and other remote sensing instruments, along with ground instruments, were used to record changes in snow/ice accumulation, as well as meteorological observations such as snowfall rates. SnowEx is funded by NASA’s Terrestrial Hydrology Program.
The Airborne Glacier and Land Ice Surface Topography Interferometer (GLISTIN-A) is an airborne, interferometric synthetic aperture radar. GLISTIN-A operates in the Ka-band (35.6 GHz), allowing the instrument to penetrate the top layers of snow and limit atmospheric attenuation. GLISTIN-A provides measurements of glacial and land ice surface topography and elevation at a spatial resolution of around 3 m. GLISTIN-A is ideal for measuring ice sheet elevation and studying glacial topographic changes due to its high spatial resolution and accuracy.
The Wideband Instrument for Snow Measurements (WISM) instrument was developed to address a remote sensing need to measure surface snowfall and its associated snow water equivalent. WISM consists of two airborne instruments: a dual-frequency (X and Ku) Synthetic Aperture Radar and a dual-frequency (X and Ka) radiometer with a shared common antenna aperture between the two.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Snow Water Equivalent
If instrument model or detailed specification information is not available, can use this instrument entry for radiometers of various types (typically microwave-band) that are flown on aircraft.
Earth Science > >
The Leica ScanStation C10 is a ground-based high-definition surveying (HDS) scanner manufactured by Leica Geosystems. It provides terrestrial lidar scanning (TLS) point cloud measurements to determine canopy structure and surface topography. It operates at 532 nm wavelength and has a scan rate of up to 50,000 points per second. It has a range resolution of 130 to 300 m, depending on the albedo of the surface.
Earth Science > Land Surface > Topography > Terrain Elevation
The Riegl VZ-1000 is a ground-based terrestrial laser scanner manufactured by Riegl Laser Measurement Systems. It provides lidar point cloud measurements to determine surface topography features. It operates at a 1550 nm wavelength and has a scan rate of up to 122,000 points per second. It has a maximum range of 1.4 km and a resolution of 2 cm.
Earth Science > Land Surface > Topography > Terrain Elevation
The Snow Synthetic Aperture Radar (SnowSAR) is airborne dual-frequency, dual-polarization SAR developed by MetaSensing for the European Space Agency (ESA). It collects radar imagery of snow, ice, and other vegetation for satellite validation. SnowSAR operates across an X-band (9.6 GHz) and Ku-band (17.25 GHz) frequency. It has a swath width ranging from 200-2000 meters and has a typical spatial resolution of 1 meter by 1 meter.
The Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) is an airborne multi-wavelength scanning radiometer developed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). CAR provides measurements of scattered radiance and bidirectional reflectance of the surface across 14 spectral bands in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths (0.34-2.30 µm). It also acquires imagery of cloud and Earth surface features. CAR has a scan rate of 1.67 Hz (100 rpm) and has a spatial resolution of 4m at nadir for an altitude of 200m above ground level.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Radiative Transfer
A pyrometer is a remote-sensing infrared thermometer that measures the temperature of distant objects. It determines the temperature of an object by detecting its thermal radiation. It can be deployed on aircraft, ground, or water-based platforms for surface and sea surface temperature observations. For atmospheric studies, the pyrometer typically operates in the 9.6 to 11.5 µm spectral range and has a temperature range of -25 to 200 degrees Celsius. Pyrometers have a typical response time of 5 ms to 600 s.
Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Skin Temperature
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature
Earth Science > Spectral/engineering > Infrared Wavelengths > Brightness Temperature
The Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector (QWIP) is an airborne infrared camera system manufactured by QmagiQ and operated by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). QWIP collects infrared imagery in the 8-10 μm band and can detect temperature variations of around 0.2 degrees Celsius. It has a typical frame rate of 60 Hz and a field of view of 11 by 9 degrees. QWIP has a pixel ground resolution of approximately 1.8 m at a flight altitude of 10000 feet.
The Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) is an airborne suite of remote sensing instruments used for measuring snow properties such as snow albedo, snow depth, and snow water equivalent. ASO consists of a CASI 1500 imaging spectrometer and a Riegl Q1560 scanning lidar. The CASI spectrometer operates across the 380-1050 nm and is used to retrieve spectral albedo. The Riegl Q1560 lidar operates at the 1064 nm wavelength and is used to measure surface elevation to determine snow depths. Snow depth measurements are provided at a spatial resolution of 3m and 50m, while snow water equivalent measurements are only provided at a resolution of 50m.
Earth Science > Cryosphere > Snow/ice > Albedo
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Snow Water Equivalent
The Airborne Glacier and Land Ice Surface Topography Interferometer (GLISTIN-A) is an airborne, interferometric synthetic aperture radar. GLISTIN-A operates in the Ka-band (35.6 GHz), allowing the instrument to penetrate the top layers of snow and limit atmospheric attenuation. GLISTIN-A provides measurements of glacial and land ice surface topography and elevation at a spatial resolution of around 3 m. GLISTIN-A is ideal for measuring ice sheet elevation and studying glacial topographic changes due to its high spatial resolution and accuracy.
The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) is an airborne polarimetric L-band radar developed and operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It provides differential interferometric measurements which can be used to understand deformation from phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and glaciers. UAVSAR operates at a frequency of 1.26 GHz and has a range bandwidth of 80 MHz. It has a horizontal resolution of 6 m and a swath width of 20 km at an altitude of 12 km.
The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) is an airborne polarimetric L-band radar developed and operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It provides differential interferometric measurements which can be used to understand deformation from phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and glaciers. UAVSAR operates at a frequency of 1.26 GHz and has a range bandwidth of 80 MHz. It has a horizontal resolution of 6 m and a swath width of 20 km at an altitude of 12 km.
If instrument model or detailed specification information is not available, can use this instrument entry for radiometers of various types (typically microwave-band) that are flown on aircraft.
Earth Science > >
The Leica ScanStation C10 is a ground-based high-definition surveying (HDS) scanner manufactured by Leica Geosystems. It provides terrestrial lidar scanning (TLS) point cloud measurements to determine canopy structure and surface topography. It operates at 532 nm wavelength and has a scan rate of up to 50,000 points per second. It has a range resolution of 130 to 300 m, depending on the albedo of the surface.
Earth Science > Land Surface > Topography > Terrain Elevation
Earth Science > Land Surface > Soils > Soil Temperature
This data will be added in future versions
Earth Science > >
This data will be added in future versions
Earth Science > >
Soil moisture probes are in situ ground-based sensors used to measure soil water content. The most common type of soil moisture probes used for scientific research use dielectric permittivity techniques such as capacitance sensors or time-domain reflectometry sensors. These types of probes measure the charge-storage capacity of the soil to determine the soil moisture content. They typically operate at frequencies around 50 MHz and above to reduce sensitivity to salinity. Soil moisture probes provide continuous measurements and are relatively easy to deploy.
The Riegl VZ-1000 is a ground-based terrestrial laser scanner manufactured by Riegl Laser Measurement Systems. It provides lidar point cloud measurements to determine surface topography features. It operates at a 1550 nm wavelength and has a scan rate of up to 122,000 points per second. It has a maximum range of 1.4 km and a resolution of 2 cm.
Earth Science > Land Surface > Topography > Terrain Elevation
The Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) is an airborne suite of remote sensing instruments used for measuring snow properties such as snow albedo, snow depth, and snow water equivalent. ASO consists of a CASI 1500 imaging spectrometer and a Riegl Q1560 scanning lidar. The CASI spectrometer operates across the 380-1050 nm and is used to retrieve spectral albedo. The Riegl Q1560 lidar operates at the 1064 nm wavelength and is used to measure surface elevation to determine snow depths. Snow depth measurements are provided at a spatial resolution of 3m and 50m, while snow water equivalent measurements are only provided at a resolution of 50m.
Earth Science > Cryosphere > Snow/ice > Albedo
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Snow Water Equivalent
The Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) is an airborne push-broom imaging spectrometer developed by Itres Research Ltd. CASI measures reflectance in the visible/near-infrared (VNIR) spectral region, which can be used to derive vegetation characteristics. It operates in the 430-870 nm spectral range and has a 35-degree field of view (FOV). CASI has a cross-track ground resolution of 1.23 m per 1 km altitude above ground level (AGL). The along-track resolution is determined by the integration time and the aircraft speed. CASI has a frame rate of 85 lines per second.
Earth Science > Biosphere > Vegetation > Vegetation Index > Leaf Area Index (lai)
If instrument model or detailed specification information is not available, can use this instrument entry for radiometers of various types (typically microwave-band) that are flown on aircraft.
Earth Science > >
This data will be added in future versions.
Earth Science > Land Surface > Soils > Soil Temperature
Soil moisture probes are in situ ground-based sensors used to measure soil water content. The most common type of soil moisture probes used for scientific research use dielectric permittivity techniques such as capacitance sensors or time-domain reflectometry sensors. These types of probes measure the charge-storage capacity of the soil to determine the soil moisture content. They typically operate at frequencies around 50 MHz and above to reduce sensitivity to salinity. Soil moisture probes provide continuous measurements and are relatively easy to deploy.
The Riegl VZ-1000 is a ground-based terrestrial laser scanner manufactured by Riegl Laser Measurement Systems. It provides lidar point cloud measurements to determine surface topography features. It operates at a 1550 nm wavelength and has a scan rate of up to 122,000 points per second. It has a maximum range of 1.4 km and a resolution of 2 cm.
Earth Science > Land Surface > Topography > Terrain Elevation
The Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) is an airborne imaging spectrometer developed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to operate alongside and eventually replace the AVIRIS Classic. AVIRIS-NG has been designed to operate aboard NASA’s ER-2, a Twin Otter, and a B-200. AVIRIS-NG operates between 380 nm - 2510 nm with 5nm spectral resolution. AVIRIS-NG has a spatial resolution of 18 m at 20 km altitude and is often used for terrestrial ecology research investigations.
Lidar is a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflected light with a sensor. Differences in laser return times and wavelengths can then be used to make digital 3-D representations of the target.
Lidar is a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflected light with a sensor. Differences in laser return times and wavelengths can then be used to make digital 3-D representations of the target.
If instrument model or detailed specification information is not available, can use this instrument entry for radiometers of various types (typically microwave-band) that are flown on aircraft.
Earth Science > >
The Riegl VZ-1000 is a ground-based terrestrial laser scanner manufactured by Riegl Laser Measurement Systems. It provides lidar point cloud measurements to determine surface topography features. It operates at a 1550 nm wavelength and has a scan rate of up to 122,000 points per second. It has a maximum range of 1.4 km and a resolution of 2 cm.
Earth Science > Land Surface > Topography > Terrain Elevation
