Terrestrial Photography ApplicationS on Snow covEr in Svalbard (PASSES) Project start: 2018-04-15 - end: 2021-12-31 The purpose of this activity is the development of a new snow product focused on the estimation of the fraction of snow cover in selected sites at different spatial resolutions. This dataset will be aimed to support the estimation of cryospheric information using remotely sensed data, with a particular attention to data obtained in the framework of the Copernicus program. The availability of this dataset in a natural laboratory such as Svalbard islands will support the reduction of the gap between remotely sensed data and modeling activities. This added value will be very important considering the higher spatial resolution of the sensors recently deployed. The dataset will be based on re-using data obtained from public repositories such as the digital elevation model of Svalbard, the available webcam imageries in Svalbard and satellite products from Landsat, Sentinel and MODIS missions. All the available data will be integrated in order to estimate the fraction of snow cover, at different spatial resolutions, for each satellite mission. These estimations, computed at different sites in Svalbard islands, will offer the opportunity to better integrate results obtained by remote sensing with modeling and air-snow interactions studies. Particular attention will be devoted to the formalization of agreements with raw-data providers in case of not-public licensing policies.

The automated nivological station was installed in November 2020 in a flat area over the tundra about 80 meters far from the Gruvebadet Atmospheric Laboratory and nearby a snow sampling site from where weekly snow samples are collected for chemical analysis. Sensors have been calibrated by their companies before installation and are connected to a datalogger for continuous acquisition. For all the parameters, data are logged with 10-minute time resolution and then averaged over 1 hour. This activity is carried out by the Aldo Pontremoli Centre part of the Joint Research Agreement ENI-CNR.

Continuous Vis-Near IR Characterization of snow-ice surface in Ny-Ålesund (SnowIceCReM) The activity foreseen for 2015-2020 includes: continuous full-range reflectance measurements; continuous multispectral observations; ground-truth survey on snow surfaces. The first part of the activity is attempted to replicate the experiment carried out in 2014 where a VNIR spectroradiometer were deployed at the CCT. Hardware upgrades will be coupled with the addition of some position and optical reference targets. An hemispheric webcam will acquire high resolution sky and ground images to support the experiment in terms of cloud and snow cover/roughness characterization, and to provide a quality check of the rotating support position by means of the above mentioned specific targets. The availability of such accessory information will help on selecting a homogeneous spectral albedo dataset. The same quality check approach will be used also for the deployment of a second instrument that will be developed in order to obtain fixed band albedo at 860, 1240 and 1640 nm. Both measurements will be hemispheric, in the 350-2500nm wavelength range. While the first set up obtains asynchronous spectral albedo, the second one provides synchronous spectral albedo on bands selected considering sensors deployed on satellites. The final task will be persecuted with a ground-truth survey focused on calibrating the two different hemispherical receivers with bidirectional observations.

ISotopic and physical-chemical MOnitoring of GLACial drainages and sea water in the Ny-Ålesund area (Svalbard) (ISMOGLAC) Sampling and in-situ measurements on snow and water, performed into both Kongsfjorden and glacial streams that originate in supraglacial, englacial and subglacial zones of different glaciers (Midtre Lovenbreen, Austre broggerbreen, Vestre Broggerbreen, Kongsvegen). Dataset concerns water isotopes signature of snow and Kongsfjorden water and physical-chemical data of the latter.

terrestrial Photography ApplicationS on Snow covEr in Svalbard Project start: 2018-04-15 - end: 2021-12-31 The purpose of this activity is the development of a new snow product focused on the estimation of the fraction of snow cover in selected sites at different spatial resolutions. This dataset will be aimed to support the estimation of cryospheric information using remotely sensed data, with a particular attention to data obtained in the framework of the Copernicus program. The availability of this dataset in a natural laboratory such as Svalbard islands will support the reduction of the gap between remotely sensed data and modeling activities. This added value will be very important considering the higher spatial resolution of the sensors recently deployed. The dataset will be based on re-using data obtained from public repositories such as the digital elevation model of Svalbard, the available webcam imageries in Svalbard and satellite products from Landsat, Sentinel and MODIS missions. All the available data will be integrated in order to estimate the fraction of snow cover, at different spatial resolutions, for each satellite mission. These estimations, computed at different sites in Svalbard islands, will offer the opportunity to better integrate results obtained by remote sensing with modeling and air-snow interactions studies. Particular attention will be devoted to the formalization of agreements with raw-data providers in case of not-public licensing policies.

Measurement of the concentration and turbulent flux of CO2 and CH4 at 15 m above sea level on the CCT.

Snow Core Data (SnowCorD) Project start: 2021-05-01 - end: 2025-12-31 The estimation of the Fractional Snow-Covered Area in the Brøgger Peninsula ensambling processed imagery located at different sites with different spatial resolutions. This dataset will be aimed to support the estimation of cryospheric information using remotely sensed data. The Ensembled FSCA retrievals are obtained, at the moment, by terrestrial photography applications established at the Amundsen-Nobile Climate Change Tower, at the Zeppelin observatory and at the Gruvebadet Snow Research Site in the Kongsfjorden area.

Data collected by the WINTER-CZ Monitoring Station. The CO2 and the temperature is sampled is measured inside the soil, the snowpack (when the station is covered by the snow) and the atmosphere. Other variables are collected as well: the humidity and the oxygen content of the soil, the snowpack height, the humidity and the temperature of the air, the wind speed and direction.