Using Optical and Thermal Data for Tracking Snowmelt Processes in Alpine Area

Alpine catchments represent a fundamental reservoir of fresh water at midlatitude. Remote sensing offers the opportunity to estimate snow properties in the optical, thermal and microwave domains. In particular, the possibility to estimate snow density from remote sensing is relevant and still represents a great challenge for the remote sensing scientific community. Since changes of snow density and liquid water content occur continuously in the snowpack, spatial and temporal patterns of optical and thermal data can give information about snowmelt processes. The main goal of this study is to evaluate if snow thermal inertia can be an indicator of snowmelt processes and to evaluate its relationship with snow variables, with particular attention to snow density. This study is a first attempt in exploiting thermal inertia for monitoring snow dynamics, and it may open new perspectives for early detection of snowmelt processes and snow parameters from remote sensing observations.