Emission characteristics of snow and ice in the microwave range

Some results are presented of a two year investigation on microwave emissions from snow. Included in the investigation were: theoretical studies; laboratory measurements of electrical properties of snow and similar materials; numerical modelling of hypothetical and real snowpacks; analysis of microwave data obtained on everflights; and quantative measurements of natural and artificial snowpacks made in the field. Results indicate that a fairly simple combination of microwave polarizations and frequencies can ultimately be used to monitor the water equivalent and free-water content as well as the distribution of snow. This understanding may also shed light on the physics of microwave emission from other wet, granular, layered media.