Project Details
Projekt
Snow Dynamics
Applicant
Paul Schattan, Ph.D.
Subject Area
Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
Term
since 2022
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 357874777
Previous work focused on the general suitability of Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing (CRNS) for monitoring snow water resources in mountain regions. Laser scanning measurements and Monte Carlo neutron simulations at an alpine site in Kaunertal (Austria) revealed the presence of a snow-related neutron response even for up to 600 mm of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). Snow pack heterogeneity was shown to have no influence to the CRNS signal under fully snow covered conditions while the response was substantial during periods of partial snow cover in the footprint. Current research gaps include the transferability of the above-mentioned results to (1) other locations, (2) differing climate and vegetation zones, and (3) dynamic soil moisture conditions. In the second phase of Cosmic Sense, measurements in different climatic zones along elevation gradients are planned to cover these aspects and to refine the estimation of SWE from CRNS data. Using elevation transects allows for covering different SWE amounts and varying conditions within one campaign, i.e. from grasslands over forested areas and alpine meadows to zones with sparse vegetation. Alpine sites in Austria with steep environmental gradients will be complemented by a cascade of lower-elevated pre-alpine, low mountain, and lowland sites in Germany which will be intensively monitored also by the adjacent research modules Hydrological Modelling (HG), Vegetation (VG), Smart Coverage (SC), and Root Zone Water (RZ). The continuous stationary field measurements are planned to be complemented by campaign-based mobile measurements of the spatial SWE distribution together with Roving & Airborne (RA). Laser scanning based snow cover observations and terrestrial photography will provide reference data on the spatial distribution of SWE and snow coverage. The obtained data will be used to set up neutron transport modeling in cooperation with Neutron Simulations (NS) to generalize the findings. In particular, both field measurements and snow related neutron transport simulations are providing the basis for developing the SWE forward operator in close cooperation with NS and HM. Finally, specific joint field campaigns together with HM and RA will allow for validating the results. Interactions between vegetation, snow, and root-zone soil moisture will be analyzed together with VG and RZ. The alpine sites also facilitate the testing of prototypes within Detector Development (DD) in rough conditions.
DFG Programme
Research Units
International Connection
Austria
Partner Organisation
Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)
Cooperation Partner
Professor Dr.-Ing. Stefan Achleitner
Co-Investigator
Dr. Martin Schrön
