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Determination of actual snow-covered area using Landsat TM and digital elevation model data in Glacier National Park, Montana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Dorothy K. Hall ,
James L. Foster ,
Janet Y.L. Chien  and
George A. Riggs
Dorothy K. Hall
Affiliation:
Hydrological Sciences Branch, Code 974, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
James L. Foster
Affiliation:
Hydrological Sciences Branch, Code 974, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Janet Y.L. Chien
Affiliation:
General Sciences Corporation, 6100 Chevy Chase Drive, Laurel, MD 20707, USA
George A. Riggs
Affiliation:
RDS Corporation, 7855 Walker Drive, Suite 460, Greenbelt, MD 20770, USA
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Abstract

In the future, data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) will be employed to map snow in an automated environment at a resolution of 250 m to 1 km. Using Landsat thematic mapper (TM) data, an algorithm, SNOMAP, has been developed to map snow-covered area. This algorithm will be used, with appropriate modification, with MODIS data following the launch of the first Earth Observing System (EOS) platform in 1998. SNOMAP has been shown to be successful in mapping snow in a variety of areas using TM data. However, significant errors may be present in mountainous areas due to effects of topography. To increase the accuracy of mapping global snow-covered area in the future using MODIS data, digital elevation model (DEM) data have been registered to TM data for parts of Glacier National Park, Montana, so that snow cover on mountain slopes can be mapped. This paper shows that the use of DEM data registered to TM data increases the accuracy of mapping snow-covered area. Using SNOMAP on a subscene within the 14 March 1991 TM scene of northwestern Montana, 215 km2 of snow is mapped when TM data are used alone to map the snow cover. We show that about 1062 km2 of snow are actually present as measured when the TM and DEM data are registered. Approximately five times more snow is present when the effects of topography are considered for this subscene, which is in a rugged area in Glacier National Park. A simple model has been developed to determine the relationship between terrain relief and the amount of correction that must be applied to map actual snow-covered area in Glacier National Park using satellite data alone.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 31 , Issue 177 , April 1995 , pp. 191 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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