Drone-based ground-penetrating radar (GPR) application to snow hydrology

作者：Eole Valence, Michel Baraër, Éric Rosa, Florent Barbecot, Chloé Monty · 发表于：˜The œcryosphere · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.5194/tc-16-3843-2022 · 被引用次数：40 · 研究领域：Cryospheric studies and observations、Landslides and related hazards、Climate change and permafrost

Seasonal snowpack deeply influences the distribution of meltwater among watercourses and groundwater. During rain-on-snow (ROS) events, the structure and properties of the different snow and ice layers dictate the quantity and timing of water flowing out of the snowpack, increasing the risk of flooding and ice jams. With ongoing climate change, a better understanding of the processes and internal properties influencing snowpack outflows is needed to predict the hydrological consequences of winter melting episodes and increases in the frequency of ROS events. This study develops a multi-method approach to monitor the key snowpack properties in a non-mountainous environment in a repeated and non-destructive way. Snowpack evolution during the winter of 2020–2021 was evaluated using a drone-based, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) coupled with photogrammetry surveys conducted at the Ste-Marthe experimental watershed in Quebec, Canada. Drone-based surveys were performed over a 200 m 2 area with a flat and a sloped section. In addition, time domain reflectometry (TDR) measurements were used to follow water flow through the snowpack and identify drivers of the changes in snowpack conditions, as observed in the drone-based surveys. The experimental watershed is equipped with state-of-the-art automatic weather stations that, together with weekly snow pit measurements over the ablation period, served as a reference for the multi-method monitoring approach. Drone surveys conducted on a wee...