Snow microstructure and stratigraphy requirements: new remote sensing mission concept

[Melody Sandells]

Dear Colleagues, 

We are seeking input from the snow and cryosphere community to help define user requirements for SnowDROP (Snow Distributed Radar Observation Platform), an ESA-funded New Earth Observation Mission Idea (NEOMI) led by Northumbria University.

SnowDROP aims to retrieve snowpack layering and density from spaceborne radar tomography, and assimilate these into multilayered snowpack models, providing snow microstructure. These data are useful for numerous applications e.g. avalanche hazard, hydrological forecasting, numerical weather prediction, and support to other Earth Observation missions (e.g. CIMR, CRISTAL, ROSE-L). There are currently no community-defined requirements for snowpack stratigraphic or microstructure observations from space. This survey is your opportunity to help shape these requirements and develop a mission concept to provide these data for you. The survey covers spatial and temporal resolution needs, uncertainty requirements, data latency, and geographic priorities. The survey takes approximately 10 – 15 minutes to complete and closes on 29th May 2026. Thank you for taking the time to contribute.

SnowDROP user requirements survey

On behalf of the SnowDROP team,

Mel Sandells, Johnny Rutherford, Lina Zschenderlein, Esteban Alonso-González, Iris de Gélis and Amy Macfarlane

Dr Mel Sandells

Associate Professor in School of Geography and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Environment

Ellison D119, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, United Kingdom