2008/01/01 by S. W. Tyler, Susan A. Burak, J. P. McNamara +3 · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Cryospheric studies and observations #Landslides and related hazards #Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
paper · pdf · doi:10.3189/002214308786570827
openalex publication_date 2008/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/05
Abstract Snowpack base temperatures vary during accumulation and diurnally. Their measurement provides insight into physical, biological and chemical processes occurring at the snow/soil interface. Recent advances in Raman-spectra instruments, which use the scattered light in a standard telecommunications fiber-optic cable to infer absolute temperature along the entire length of the fiber, offer a unique opportunity to obtain basal snow temperatures at resolutions of 1 m, 10 s and 0.1°C. Measurements along a 330 m fiber over 24 hours during late-spring snowmelt at Mammoth Mountain, California, USA, showed basal snow temperatures of 0 ± 0.2°C using 10 s averages. Where the fiber-optic cable traversed bare ground, surface temperatures approached 40°C during midday. The durability of the fiber optic was excellent; no major damage or breaks occurred through the winter of burial. Data from the Dry Creek experimental watershed in Idaho across a small stream valley showed little variability of temperature on the northeast-facing, snow-covered slope, but clearly showed melting patterns and the effects of solar heating on southwest-facing slopes. These proof-of-concept experiments show that the technology enables more detailed spatial and temporal coverage than traditional point measurements of temperature.