BOREAS Snow Depth and Density Measurements from 1994 and 1996

This dataset provides detailed snowpack measurements from the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) HYD-03 team. It includes snow depth, density in 3-cm intervals, integrated snowpack density, snow water equivalent, and physical properties from snow pit evaluations. Data was collected at multiple sites in the Southern and Northern Study Areas during 1994 and 1996 using standard field tools.

Use Cases

• Calibrating and validating remote sensing algorithms for snow depth and snow water equivalent using ground-truth measurements.
• Modeling spatial distributions of snowpack properties to understand hydrologic processes in forested catchments.
• Studying the physical structure and layering of seasonal snow through detailed snow pit property data.
• Analyzing inter-annual variability in snow characteristics between the 1994 and 1996 collection years.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution snow density measurements at 3-cm vertical intervals within the snowpack.
• Covers multiple geographic sites across both the Southern and Northern Study Areas (SSA and NSA) of BOREAS.
• Includes integrated snow water equivalent (SWE) data, a key variable for hydrologic modeling.

Limitations

• Specific column names and the total row count are not provided by any source, limiting precise structural understanding.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one listing 1996-03-11 and another listing 2026-03 13, suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

BOREAS HYD-03 team, associated with ORNL_CLOUD.

Collection Method

Field measurements using standard tools including a meter stick, 100 cc snow density cutter, dial stem thermometer, and Canadian snow sampler.

Time Range

1994 to 1996

Freshness

2026-03-13 07:29:12.901426

Geography

BOREAS Southern and Northern Study Areas (SSA and NSA)