TY - Generic T1 - The Canadian automatic snow depth sensor: a performance update T2 - 56th Annual Western Snow Conference Y1 - 1988 A1 - Goodison, B.E. A1 - Metcalf, R.A. A1 - Wilson, R.A. A1 - Jones, K. KW - Acoustic, Automatic sensor, Commercial, Ranging, Snow depth AB - In Canada, a need exists for a reliable, low cost automatic snow depth sensor. The Atmospheric Environment Service (AES) has developed and tested an acoustic ranging device, which provides an accurate and economical method of measureing snow depth remotely. The AES sensor has been licensed for commercial manufacture. Field tests were conducted at various sites across Canada, to assess the accuracy and performance of the sensor. Results indicated that the automatic sensor measured within plus-or-minus 2.5 cm of independent ruler measurements, and over the winter season, its measurement time series replicated daily ruler measurements. The sensor is now configured to measure with a 1.00 mm resolution; however, it is not practical to expect measurement accuracies of this precision over such a dynamic surface as snow. Factors which can influence the measurements of snow depth and snowfall using acoustic ranging devies are presented. With proper siting, the AES Automatic Snow Depth Sensor provides a reasonable and accurate measurement of snow depth. JF - 56th Annual Western Snow Conference T3 - Proceedings of the 56th Annual Western Snow Conference PB - Western Snow Conference CY - Kalispell, Montana UR - sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1988Goodison.pdf ER - TY - Generic T1 - Canadian snow gauge experiment: recent results T2 - 50th Annual Western Snow Conference Y1 - 1982 A1 - Goodison, B.E. A1 - Metcalfe, J.R. KW - Nipher shield, Snow gauge measurement, Wyoming shield AB - For several years the Hydrometeorology Division of the Atmospheric Environment Service has been conducting field tests on the accuracy and performance of various types of snow gauge installations used throughout Canada. This paper reviews results on the performance of two types of shielding for recording gauges - the Wyoming shield and a large Nipher-type shield now under test by the AES. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of shield are reviewed. Seasonal totals show that on the average the large Nipher-type shield undercatches the standard MSC Nipher snow gauge by less than 10%, while the Wyoming shieldied gauge undercatches it by about 25%. Alter-shielded recording gauges generally measure about 60% of the snowfall measured using the MSC Nipher shielded snow gauge. Inconsistencies in the daily measurements from some recording gauges were observed and these must be understood before the gauges can be operated successfully at automatic stations in Canada. JF - 50th Annual Western Snow Conference T3 - Proceedings of the 50th Annual Western Snow Conference PB - Western Snow Conference CY - Reno, Nevada UR - sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1982Goodison.pdf ER - TY - Generic T1 - Canadian snowfall measurements: some implications for the collection and analysis of data from remote stations T2 - 46th Annual Western Snow Conference Y1 - 1978 A1 - Goodison, B.E. A1 - McKay, D.J. KW - Precipitation Gages, Snow measurements AB - A summary of the accuracy of different snow gauges used in Canada is given. The results of field experiments carried out at the Cold Creek Hydrometeorological Research Station near Toronto demonstrated that the non-recording MSC Nipher shielded gauge displayed a superior catch efficiency compared to the Alter shielded Universal or Fischer & Porter recording gauges. The Fischer & Porter gauge had the lowest catch ratio of all gauges tested; yet, it is one of the most suitable gauges for operation at remote stations. Some of the implications for obtaining comparable precipitaton statistics for use in areal analyses and hydrologic models are discussed. Current research and development work on the Fischer & Porter gauge to increase its resolution to 0.25 mm resolution and to incorporate a built-in processing facility to correct for gauge catch deficiency is summarized. JF - 46th Annual Western Snow Conference T3 - Proceedings of the 46th Annual Western Snow Conference PB - Western Snow Conference CY - Otter Rock, Oregon UR - sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1978Goodison.pdf ER -