---
_id: '12598'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Obtaining detailed information about high mountain snowpacks is often limited
    by insufficient ground-based observations and uncertainty in the (re)distribution
    of solid precipitation. We utilize high-resolution optical images from Pléiades
    satellites to generate a snow depth map, at a spatial resolution of 4 m, for a
    high mountain catchment of central Chile. Results are negatively biased (median
    difference of −0.22 m) when compared against observations from a terrestrial Light
    Detection And Ranging scan, though replicate general snow depth variability well.
    Additionally, the Pléiades dataset is subject to data gaps (17% of total pixels),
    negative values for shallow snow (12%), and noise on slopes >40–50° (2%). We correct
    and filter the Pléiades snow depths using surface classification techniques of
    snow-free areas and a random forest model for data gap filling. Snow depths (with
    an estimated error of ~0.36 m) average 1.66 m and relate well to topographical
    parameters such as elevation and northness in a similar way to previous studies.
    However, estimations of snow depth based upon topography (TOPO) or physically
    based modeling (DBSM) cannot resolve localized processes (i.e., avalanching or
    wind scouring) that are detected by Pléiades, even when forced with locally calibrated
    data. Comparing these alternative model approaches to corrected Pléiades snow
    depths reveals total snow volume differences between −28% (DBSM) and +54% (TOPO)
    for the catchment and large differences across most elevation bands. Pléiades
    represents an important contribution to understanding snow accumulation at sparsely
    monitored catchments, though ideally requires a careful systematic validation
    procedure to identify catchment-scale biases and errors in the snow depth derivation.
article_number: e2019WR024880
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Thomas E.
  full_name: Shaw, Thomas E.
  last_name: Shaw
- first_name: Simon
  full_name: Gascoin, Simon
  last_name: Gascoin
- first_name: Pablo A.
  full_name: Mendoza, Pablo A.
  last_name: Mendoza
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
- first_name: James
  full_name: McPhee, James
  last_name: McPhee
citation:
  ama: Shaw TE, Gascoin S, Mendoza PA, Pellicciotti F, McPhee J. Snow depth patterns
    in a high mountain Andean catchment from satellite optical tristereoscopic remote
    sensing. <i>Water Resources Research</i>. 2020;56(2). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr024880">10.1029/2019wr024880</a>
  apa: Shaw, T. E., Gascoin, S., Mendoza, P. A., Pellicciotti, F., &#38; McPhee, J.
    (2020). Snow depth patterns in a high mountain Andean catchment from satellite
    optical tristereoscopic remote sensing. <i>Water Resources Research</i>. American
    Geophysical Union. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr024880">https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr024880</a>
  chicago: Shaw, Thomas E., Simon Gascoin, Pablo A. Mendoza, Francesca Pellicciotti,
    and James McPhee. “Snow Depth Patterns in a High Mountain Andean Catchment from
    Satellite Optical Tristereoscopic Remote Sensing.” <i>Water Resources Research</i>.
    American Geophysical Union, 2020. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr024880">https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr024880</a>.
  ieee: T. E. Shaw, S. Gascoin, P. A. Mendoza, F. Pellicciotti, and J. McPhee, “Snow
    depth patterns in a high mountain Andean catchment from satellite optical tristereoscopic
    remote sensing,” <i>Water Resources Research</i>, vol. 56, no. 2. American Geophysical
    Union, 2020.
  ista: Shaw TE, Gascoin S, Mendoza PA, Pellicciotti F, McPhee J. 2020. Snow depth
    patterns in a high mountain Andean catchment from satellite optical tristereoscopic
    remote sensing. Water Resources Research. 56(2), e2019WR024880.
  mla: Shaw, Thomas E., et al. “Snow Depth Patterns in a High Mountain Andean Catchment
    from Satellite Optical Tristereoscopic Remote Sensing.” <i>Water Resources Research</i>,
    vol. 56, no. 2, e2019WR024880, American Geophysical Union, 2020, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr024880">10.1029/2019wr024880</a>.
  short: T.E. Shaw, S. Gascoin, P.A. Mendoza, F. Pellicciotti, J. McPhee, Water Resources
    Research 56 (2020).
date_created: 2023-02-20T08:12:47Z
date_published: 2020-02-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-28T12:26:14Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1029/2019wr024880
extern: '1'
intvolume: '        56'
issue: '2'
keyword:
- Water Science and Technology
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR024880
month: '02'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: Water Resources Research
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1944-7973
  issn:
  - 0043-1397
publication_status: published
publisher: American Geophysical Union
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Snow depth patterns in a high mountain Andean catchment from satellite optical
  tristereoscopic remote sensing
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 56
year: '2020'
...