Mauro Valt

Study of the snow melt–freeze cycle using multi-sensor data and snow modelling

The melt cycle of snow is investigated by combining ground-based microwave radiometric measurements with conventional and meteorological data and by using a hydrological snow model. Measurements at 2000 m a.s.l in the basin of the Cor- devole river in the eastern Italian Alps confirm the high sensitivity of microwave emission at 19 and 37 GHz to the snow melt^freeze cycle, while the brightness at 6.8 GHz is mostly related to underlying soil. Simulations of snowpack changes performed by means of hydrological and electromagnetic models, driven with meteorological and snow data, provide additional insight into these processes and contribute to the interpretation of the experimental data.

Radiometric investigation of different snow covers in Svalbard

This paper examines the relationship between reflectance and physical characteristics of the snow cover in the Arctic. Field data were acquired for different snow and ice surfaces during a survey carried out at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in spring 1998. In each measurement reflectance in the spectral range 350 - 2500 nm, snow data (including temperature, grain size and shape, density and water content), surface layer morphology, and vertical profile of the snow pack were recorded detailed analysis of reflectance based on the physical was performed. Field reflectance data were also re-sampled at the spectral intervals of Landsat TM to compare the ability of identifying different snow targets at discrete wavelength intervals. This analysis shows that reliable data on snow structure and thickness are necessary to understand albedo changes of the snow surfaces.

Snowpack characteristics of Brøggerhalvøya, Svalbard Islands

This paper is focused to the study of spatial variability of snowcover indifferent polar environmental contests. To this aim we present about 200 stratigraphic profiles of the snowpack, collected in the last years (1998–2015), in selected sites along the coast of the Brøggerhalvøya peninsula (Svalbard Islands). The different layers in the snowpack were identified and classified according to the International Standards, in terms of grain size, grain types, hardness and density. These data were used to calculate average values of hardness and density for each layer showing the same grain type characteristics. These snow stratigraphic profiles, coupled with meteorological observations, represent a valuable dataset to describe the relationship in the snowpack between pluriannial and seasonal snow and to study the characteristics of seasonal snow covers in the Svalbard region and their transformation during spring season. The stratigraphic dataset analysis seem to confirm an Arctic snow climate maritime for Brøggerhalvøya area as evidenced for a different site in Svalbard Island (Longyearbyen) by other authors.

Predicting new snow density in the Italian Alps: A variability analysis based on 10 years of measurements

DRST Centro Valanghe di Arabba, ARPA Veneto, Arabba, Italy National Research Council, Water Research Institute (IRSA‐CNR), Rome, Italy National Research Council, Water Research Institute (IRSA‐CNR), Brugherio, Italy National Research Council, Institute for Atmospheric Pollution (IIA‐CNR), Rome, Italy Dipartimento di Scienze, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy Associazione Interregionale Neve e Valanghe (AINEVA), Trento, Italy Correspondence Nicolas Guyennon, National Research Council, Water Research Institute (IRSA‐CNR), Strada Provinciale 35d, km 0,7, Montelibretti, Rome, Italy. Email: guyennon@irsa.cnr.it