Arctic Cosmic Ray neutron Observations for large-Scale Sensing of SWE (ACROSS-SWE), RiS ID 12378

The project ACROSS-SWE aims to implement a snow calibration on a Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensor (CRNS) that is placed above the snow cover on the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard. Up to this point the approach has never been applied to an Arctic CRNS station and will provide valuable insights into Arctic snow dynamics. Once calibrated for snow, the CRNS detector will provide time-continuous measurements of the average Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) within an area of several hectares. CRNS can sense the signal of water in snow equally to water in ice, making it an ideal method for Arctic snow observations. Separating the snow signal from further hydrogen sources, such as soil moisture, surface runoff water and permafrost, will pose a challenge, but also prospects for new CRNS applications. ACROSS-SWE will collaborate with local sensor operators for data correlation. The area-average measurements of CRNS provide a resolution that matches most snow models and remote sensing products. The continuously recorded CRNS signal will provide representative and scale-appropriate SWE observations that may improve future data assimilation efforts.