Utilizing the change in SAR backscatter coefficient over time, snow avalanches can be detected on daily basis in Norway (Figure 2). These daily detections are used by the Norwegian Avalanche Forecasting Service hosted by the Norwegian Water and Energy Resource Directorate (NVE) (www.satskred.nve.no) in their avalanche forecasting work.
The presence of wet snow can be important during several avalanche hazards (e.g. normal snow avalanches, slush avalanches, landslides). NORCE has a long history of using SAR to detect wet snow and has developed operational processing chains. A current focus is on long term mapping of wet snow on Svalbard related to rain-on-snow events and avalanche hazards. Snow depth or Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) are important parameters for snow avalanche release. NORCE has several projects where we focus on these parameters both with satellite and airborne radars.
NORCE has developed a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) that can be flown on drones (Figure 3). It is capable of measuring snow depth and layering valuable for avalanche hazard assessment. The GPR can be used to measure snow water equivalent (SWE), detect people buried in avalanches and study the soil properties by analyzing the differential wave penetration.
