SnowEx23 Laser Snow Microstructure Specific Surface Area Data V001

Vertical profiles of snow reflectance and specific surface area (SSA) from the Fairbanks region and North Slope of Alaska were collected in March 2023 as part of the NASA SnowEx campaign. Reflectance was measured in snow pits using three integrating sphere laser devices at wavelengths of 1310 nm and 945 nm. The data set is provided by NSIDC_CPRD.

Use Cases

• Modeling snow albedo and radiative transfer based on measured reflectance profiles
• Analyzing snow microstructure evolution based on specific surface area (SSA) data
• Comparing instrument performance for snow SSA measurement based on data from three laser devices
• Studying regional snow property variations based on data from central and northern Alaska

Strengths

• Data collected during a coordinated NASA field campaign (SnowEx 2023)
• Includes measurements from three distinct laser instruments for comparison
• Provides companion snow-off SSA data from the same study sites

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

NSIDC_CPRD

Collection Method

Measured in snow pits using integrating sphere laser devices (IceCube, IRIS, InfraSnow)

Time Range

March 2023

Freshness

Last updated 2023-03-16 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified

Geography

Fairbanks region (Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest, Caribou Poker Creek watershed, Farmers Loop/Creamer’s Field) and North Slope region (Arctic coastal plain, Upper Kuparuk Toolik) of Alaska