FRench AUstrian partnership on SNOW cover remote sensing, in situ measurements and modeling

The seasonal snow stored in alpine catchments is a key water resource for hydropower, irrigation and drinking water in many regions of the world. In the context of climate change, it is crucial to improve our ability to monitor and model the seasonal snow cover. The overall aim of the proposed French-Austrian project FRAU SNOW is to improve knowledge on the seasonal snow storage in high-alpine regions by complementing techniques developed and used by the involved French (Cesbio) and Austrian (BOKU-HyWa) partners. This encompasses the developed new method by CESBIO to measure snow depth from space at 2 m resolution over areas up to 400 km² and the involvement of BOKU-HyWa in the development of two innovative techniques to measure SWE at more local scales via GNSS and gravimetry signals. In addition, snowpack modelling approaches used by both institutions will be applied and evaluated by the proposed novel in situ and remote sensing techniques. This integrative and comparative study will be carried out at two catchments with different climatic influences, one situated in the French Pyrenees (Oncet) and the other at the border of Germany and Austria in the Eastern European Alps (Zugspitze). The project outcome will be a comprehensive evaluation of snowpack simulations including novel remote sensing and in situ techniques in the two pilot catchments. This project aims to continue and strengthen the recently started partnership between CESBIO and BOKU-HyWa.