EUMETSAT H-SAF H13 uzay tabanlı kar suyu eşdeğeri ürününün 2020-2021 kar yılı için yersel kar derinliği ölçümleriyle Türkiye üzerinde doğrulanması

Abstract

Timely and consistent information on the seasonal snow cover is critical for various scientific studies and operational applications, especially for hydrological purposes. Snow water equivalent (SWE) is a significant seasonal snow parameter, which serves as a key input for many hydrological and climatological models. H13 is a SWE product supplied within the frame of EUMETSAT’s H-SAF project based on the processing of passive microwave radiometer data. The basic aim of this study is to perform a validation of H13 over Turkey for the 2020-2021 snow season by using in-situ snow depth measurements. The validation covers the period between January and March 2021, and it includes 1282 ground-based observations. According to the results, annual RMSE of the H13 SWE product is obtained as 40.00 mm, which lies within the acceptable limits of the required product compliance. The minimum and maximum snow depth measurements within the validation period are 2.80 cm and 95.34 cm, respectively. The results obtained in this validation study clearly indicate the usability of the H13 SWE product in hydrological and climatic studies.