Near Real-Time Observations of Snow Water Equivalent for SIOS on Svalbard - SWESOS

In this report we summarize the outcome of our research project "Near real-time observations of snow water equivalent for SIOS on Svalbard – (SWESOS)", which was funded by Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS). We evaluate a new automated monitoring technique for measuring snow water equivalent (SWE) using a passive gamma ray sensor at the Bayelva site on Svalbard. Our goal is to provide high quality, continuous, near-real time data for the observation of SWE. From the new automated measurements we derive the essential climate variables of snow cover (snow height, SWE, spatial coverage) and dynamics (timing of onset and melt, wetting) and provide a unique dataset by linking existing snow datasets with the new SWE measurements. This dataset will be essential to develop and calibrate snow, permafrost and hydrologic models in this data scarce region.