The NASA Terrestrial Hydrology program (THP) has the scientific objective to use remote sensing to develop a predictive understanding of the role of water in landatmosphere interactions and to further the scientific basis of water resources management. The NASA THP is a component of the Global Water and Energy Cycle Focus Area, see Section 2.4 of A.1, the Earth Science Research Program Overview.
Seasonal snow is a critical, yet under-observed, component of the Earth system, especially considering its changing characteristics influenced by climate and other global system changes. While snow cover has long been observed by NASA’s, NOAA’s and other’s satellite systems, snow water equivalent remains a highly desired observation due to its importance to the water cycle, both global and regional, as well as its contribution to satisfying society’s growing water demand. In addition to determining the quantity of water in the snowpack, understanding snow melt dynamics is also crucial, both for water management and understanding how influences on the snow’s albedo, (e.g., wildfires, dust, black carbon, etc.,) may cause cascading impacts to both human and natural systems.
To develop, investigate, and advance different approaches to observe seasonal snow from spaceborne platforms, THP has invested in SnowEx, a multi-year field experiment, which has collected observations: surface-, aircraft-, and satellite-based. More information on SnowEx may be found at http://snow.nasa.gov/campaigns/snowex. This solicitation encourages proposers to significantly leverage SnowEx data either to: (1) Advance remote sensing of snow water equivalent (SWE), or (2) Understand changing influences on snowpack dynamics, especially snowmelt. For either of these two objectives, proposers are reminded that THP seeks capabilities that have global scale implementation and/or applicability.
Deadlines:
- Notice of Intent: June 27, 2024
- Proposal: Aug. 8, 2024